That Coffee Fix Part 6: The One He Saves for the Sun
by sahbeL
Summary: Some things are just better out in the open, and Derek and Leslie are about to figure out that keeping things from each other hasn't been the best way to go. Sixth and final part of That Coffee Fix Series, rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yes, it's the final part! YAY!

-x-

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…ba-bum…_

Derek wakes slowly.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

He feels strange for a minute before he realises that it's because he doesn't remember the last time he's felt so relaxed upon waking.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

Out of habit he inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of the apartment and confirming the lack of threat in the area. When he blinks his eyes open, the first thing he sees is the sharp slash of sunlight streaming through hastily drawn blackout curtains. They're parted through the middle haphazardly, letting in just enough light to let him know that they've definitely slept through the morning.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

His ears hone in on the steady thump of the heart beating from the warmth draped over his chest and Derek's lips twitch a little as he remembers the events of the night before. They're both naked but for underwear and her softness against him is comforting. He's surprised by the heaviness in his limbs and his reluctance to move. This is different from the others, from Jennifer, from Kate. This _feels_ like something else.

His chest rises and falls as he takes in another deep breath. Leslie doesn't stir against him and he knows that it's because her body's so used to being asleep at this time of the day. Derek dips his nose into her hair and ghosts his lips against her hairline. He takes the opportunity to run his hand over the arm folded atop his chest, encloses her small hand with his larger one and traces his fingers over her knuckles. He brushes the hair back from her shoulder and studies the black lines of her tattoos.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

The only sound he can hear is the soothing rhythm of her heartbeat. Her breath bathes his skin with warmth as she lets out a contented sigh, and Derek rubs a thumb down her upper arm, briefly distorting the bird silhouettes inked into her skin.

"Mmmm..." she hums, shifting against his left side, legs stretching and toes wiggling against the top of his left foot.

Derek moves his right arm from around her, cups her shoulder despite the awkward angle and digs his fingers into her shoulder blade, working out a knot that he knew would be there.

Leslie purrs again, tucking her face into the space below his chin and exposing her neck and shoulders to more of his touch as she shifts to lie further atop him.

Derek moves his left arm as it is freed from her under her and rubs a hand down her side and then back up again. He drags strong fingers across her upper back and works some gentle pressure into the skin and muscle beneath his hands.

Leslie sighs into his chest. He didn't think it would be possible, but she melts into him even more, boneless, comfortable and perfectly at ease.

"Feels good," she mumbles quietly.

Derek's mouth curves into a small smile. "Good morning to you too, sunshine," he murmurs back.

"Mmm, think it's more like…1," she grumbles, fingers moving to play absently with the necklace she'd given him.

Derek lifts his head to check the digital clock on her bedside and raises an eyebrow at Leslie's accuracy. She literally just pinned the time with her eyes closed.

"How did you…?"

Leslie lets out a long breath, raises a hand to her face and rubs her eyes, nose scrunching adorably as she turns her face back into his chest. "Sixth sense," she answers, still half asleep.

He runs his fingers through her hair, content to just stay still for the next ten hours if she wanted to sleep some more. She stretches against him again before wriggling back to her spot beside him, grabbing for the edge of the blanket and drawing it over them both.

"I always wake up around this time. How else would I see you at the coffee shop," she explains around a yawn, burrowing under the covers and moving back to look at his face.

It feels natural to lean over and drop a quick kiss onto her willing mouth. Leslie grins at him with a pleased look on her face.

"Whu'do you wanna do today?" she singsongs playfully.

Derek shrugs. Sundays are always the best days to stay in bed.

"We coulddd…see a movie? Get some lunch?" Leslie continues thoughtfully.

He's about to tell her that they can do whatever she wants to do when the sound of his phone vibrating from somewhere in the room reaches his ears. Derek considers ignoring it for the time being but then remembers that nobody ever texts him unless it's an emergency. Or Leslie.

He glances back at her and raises a finger for her to _hold that thought_ before slipping out of bed and hunting down his pants.

He finds them at the foot of the bed, right where he'd dropped them the night before. Leslie watches him from where she's tucked comfortably inside the blanket as he leans down and slips his phone out of his pocket. There's a text message from Cora waiting for him and he swipes it open curiously.

 **Aren't I the bestest sister ever? Say it, Der-bear.**

He snorts in amusement and swiftly types back a reply. **_You're my ONLY sister._**

 **So tell me, am I gonna have the apartment to myself for the rest of theday?**

 ** _Don't know yet, we just got up. Plans?_**

 **Oh, I'm totally not interrupting you two.**

 **Text me if you decide to spend the night again, tho - so I know you aren't dead :)**

Derek rolls his eyes even though Cora can't see his face before he types out his next reply.

 ** _Will do, Best Sister Ever._**

He locks his phone and leaves it on the bedside table before sitting on the edge of the bed beside Leslie.

"Why don't I make us some food. That's if you've got some in your kitchen," he adds teasingly as he rolls himself on top of her and cages her head with his elbows.

"Mmm, I'm pretty sure there's still eggs in the fridge and half a loaf of bread. I do get to the store sometimes," she says with a grin.

Derek plants another quick kiss onto her mouth before retreating to the kitchen.

"Ooh, my brother and I loved this movie," Leslie says as she closes the freezer door and ambles towards where Derek's sprawled on the couch in just his jeans.

His shirt is way too big on her but it doesn't make her look any less cute to him. He raises an arm in welcome and she plops down on the couch beside him, comfortable as always. He inhales deeply as she snuggles against his side, breathing in their combined scents and enjoying the way it soothes him. His wolf purrs with pleasure, content with the feel of Leslie's energy so close to him.

Leslie grins with amusement as she watches the Sanderson Sisters discover the "black river". A moment later the blonde one starts screaming maniacally on the TV, making Derek wince before she stops abruptly.

Leslie giggles before reciting the next few lines along with the witches on the TV. "'tis firm! 'Tis firm as stone! Why-why it's a _road!_ "

The witches on the TV resume their hunt for The Book and Leslie takes a spoonful of the ice cream she'd taken from the freezer and slips it into her mouth.

"Good movie," Derek comments, recalling one Halloween when he and Laura had watched the exact same movie because neither of them had wanted to be without the other that year.

Leslie pulls the spoon out of her mouth and scoffs at him. "Excellent movie," she corrects. She takes another spoonful of ice cream from the tub in her hand and offers it to him. He's never been that much of a sweet tooth but he likes the idea of sharing things with Leslie, so Derek takes the spoon from her and slips it into his mouth. The cream immediately dissolves over his hot tongue, engulfing his mouth in sugary sweetness.

It's amazing how good Cookies and Cream can taste when it comes from someone you like.

-x-

 _"_ _Ice cream!" Owen announces from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room._

 _Leslie glances up at her brother and makes grabby hands as she directs her attention back to the TV. Hocus Pocus was always their first movie choice._

 _"_ _Popcorn's still in the microwave. Where'd you leave the M &M's from last time?" He asks, handing her the tub of Vanilla Choc Chip before ambling back towards the kitchen. _

_"_ _Pantry, left side," she calls after him before popping a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth._

 _She can hear the whirring of the microwave as it counts down the three minutes of popcorn-cooking-time and Owen shuffling around and slamming cupboard doors._

 _She wriggles her socked feet a little and props them on the coffee table. The matching pair of purple socks splattered with pink ribbons are so bright they're almost blinding._

 _Life's too short to wear dull socks, anyway._

 _As she leans back against the cushions, nestling her shoulders deeper into the couch, there's a knock at the front door followed by the doorbell._

 _Leslie wrinkles her nose and cringes. Who the heck knocks and then rings the doorbell right after?_

 _"_ _Hey, get that, will you!" Her brother orders from the kitchen. Leslie rolls her eyes before pausing the TV, putting the ice cream down and shoving herself off the couch._

 _Her brother was home from college and they were about to start a long overdue veg-out session so this better be something good._

 _Another solid knock echoes through the house that prompts her to call out, "coming!"_

 _She slips against the hardwood floors, socked feet smoothing against the surface as she rushes towards the front door._

 _She's almost all the way down the hall when she glimpses the police car through the windows framing their front door. Its lights are still on and it's parked by the kerb. It makes her slow down a little, warning bells resounding in the back of her mind as her mood dims a little._

 _When she sees movement on the other side of the door, Leslie slows even more, heart beginning to hammer in her throat and lips losing their smile as she makes out the uniform. Uniforms._

 _By the time she reaches the front door, she's walking at a snail's pace and all of a sudden she doesn't really want to get the door anymore._

 _They ring the doorbell again. Knock twice in quick succession._

 _"_ _Ma'am? Could you open the door, please?"_

 _Leslie takes a second to stare at the door knob she's known all her life before she finally gathers the courage to reach out and turn it._

 _She holds the door open and stands in the gap it makes, blocking their way into their house._

 _"_ _Yes?"_

 _"_ _Ma'am, is this the Carroway residence?"_

 _Leslie nods silently, feeling sick to her stomach. Her parents were due back tomorrow and Owen hadn't broken any laws lately, as far as she knew._

 _"_ _Ma'am, I'm Officer Brown and this is Officer McNally. Is it alright if we come in for a second?"_

 _Leslie grips the door tighter and holds her ground. "What's this all about, please? My brother's been here all day, he didn't egg anyone's house or anything."_

 _She'd heard talk of some college kids running around the neighbourhood the night before, trashing mailboxes and stuff. Maybe that was it._

 _"_ _No, it's not—" the woman, McNally, interjects with a shake of her head. It's the look on her face that tells Leslie that this has nothing to do with whatever she thinks it is, and the realisation makes her speak before reconsidering._

 _"_ _My parents," she blurts out. "It's them, isn't it. What happened to my parents?"_

 _"_ _Ma'am, if you would just—"_

 _"_ _What. Happened!"_

 _McNally looks away when Leslie tries to read her face and Officer Brown picks up the slack, draws Leslie's gaze when he shifts from one foot to the other._

 _"_ _Miss Carroway, there was an accident this morning on the I52. Six car pile up. I'm sorry, but your parents didn't make it."_

 _It feels like all the breath in her body has been sucked out of every pore in her skin._

 _Her parents._

 _Mom and Dad._

 _Mom and Dad are dead._

 _She doesn't realise she's making noise until the two police officers reach for her at the same time and hold her up by her arms before she can properly hit the ground._

 _The tears are falling from her eyes and the words coming from her lips meld together into one long string of garbled words._

 _"_ _Where's my brother? Where's my brother, I want my brother. Owen. Owen!_ _ **Owen!**_ _"_

 _-x-_

When he gets home that night, Cora looks up from where she's seated on the couch and grins cheekily at him.

"I like that new look you've got."

Derek raises an eyebrow at her as he drops his keys on the kitchen bench and shrugs off his jacket.

"You know, kind of blissed out and…soft," Cora continues, crossing her arms over her chest and flashing her teeth smugly.

Derek scoffs and shakes his head as he heads to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

Sisters.

"Ooh, better watch it, brother. That was almost a smile!" Cora teases, pushing herself off the couch and bouncing towards the kitchen bench. She leans her elbows against the bar and cranes her neck to get a good look at his face.

Derek leans against the edge of the counter opposite the kitchen bench and ducks his head.

"Come on, you can't just not tell me anything!" Cora whines pathetically. "We're laying low, remember? This is the only highlight of my life!"

"This is _not_ the only highlight of your life. Don't be so dramatic, Cora," he responds before taking a sip of the bottled water in his hand.

And _Jesus_ , he sounded _exactly_ like their mother just then.

Cora sighs and moves to take a seat on one of the bar stools beside her. The playfulness on her face fades a little as Derek finally meets her eyes.

"She's nice," Cora says with a nod. "I think she's good for you."

Derek doesn't say anything but Cora grins at the sight of her brother's smile.

-x-

 _Seventeen._

 _Leslie is seventeen and the world was her oyster._

 _Everything was bright and perfect, and she thought nothing could go wrong._

 _At seventeen there is nothing much else but homework and friends and family._

 _At seventeen, when something like this happens, it changes everything. It doesn't feel like the end - it_ _ **is**_ _the end._

 _It is the endless darkness in front of her, open and gaping and raw. It is the silence that has sealed her mouth shut, glued her tongue to her teeth and taken the urge to speak, or blink, or breathe._

 _It is the hollowness that has suddenly opened up inside of her. So big and so huge that she has no idea what to do with it. That all she can think to do is try to sit as still as possible, all the time, every day. So that she doesn't shatter into tiny little pieces and float away._

 _Her parents are dead and she is seventeen._

 _Leslie is seventeen._

 _But Owen is twenty._

 _Their parents are dead, but Owen is still here._

 _Owen – who shattered the bowl of popcorn in the kitchen because he had dropped it as soon as he'd heard her scream._

 _Owen – who came rushing down the hallway calling her name. Who'd pulled her away from the police officers like_ _ **she**_ _was the one in danger. Who'd pulled her straight into his protective arms._

 _Owen._

 _Her big brother._

 _Who became her whole entire world in the space of three minutes._

-x-

 **A/N:** Guys! I finally made a tumblr and everyone is welcome! sahbelwrites. tumblr .com. Comments and faves are always much appreciated, I'd love to know what you guys think about DesLie as always.


	2. Chapter 2

It takes a grand total of two days before Derek's little sister decides that she's given them enough space and joins them at the coffee shop. It's like discovering Leslie's existence has given her the green light to start being nosy again. Derek wonders if Cora somehow knew deep down what she was doing every time she kicked him out of the apartment during the last few months.

"You know Ramona liked you," Leslie tells him, coffee mug cupped between her hands. She's sitting cross-legged on the couch beside him as Derek occupies the space beside her and Cora drops down into the armchair across from them. She's holding a mug in one hand and a plate with a muffin on it in the other.

"Who's Ramona?" his sister asks curiously.

"She's the owner of Wolfsbane. She's actually the one who gave me my job. Can't believe it's been over two years since then."

Cora perks up with interest even as Derek tries to feign the opposite. This is only the third time he's heard Leslie talk about anything in her past and he's worried that the wrong move will shut her down and push him away.

Cora, of course, has no idea.

"Wow, so you've been here for two years, huh? What made you move to New York? Derek and I are kinda just…taking a break from…life," Cora explains with an exasperated roll of her eyes. She leans forward and takes a sip out of her mug.

Derek leans back and makes a show of grabbing the paper from the small table beside him, only flicking a small curious glance at Leslie before turning back to the paper in his grasp. The more he acts like it's no big deal, the more she'll know that it really is no big deal. Whatever _it_ is.

"Oh, you know. Just…needed a change in scenery, that's all. Had to get away," Leslie replies easily. Cora breaks off a small piece of her muffin and holds it out to her and Leslie takes it out of her fingers.

When it's obvious that she's not going to say anything else, Derek clears his throat and decides that it's time to divert the subject. "That Joey guy, though," he murmurs in amusement.

Leslie hums in agreement and swallows the piece of muffin in her mouth before responding. "Yeah, don't mind him. You know how club promoters can get. He's harmless, really."

Derek shakes his head and huffs out an amused laugh.

-x-

 _"_ _You can't_ _ **not**_ _go back to college, Owen. You're almost done and I won't let you."_

 _"_ _And what, you think I'm just gonna leave you here?"_

 _"_ _You're not leaving me here, I'm staying with Tracey, remember? Just until I finish school."_

 _Owen sends her a suspicious glance as she sits on her bed and he continues to stand in the middle of her room with his arms crossed over his chest._

 _Her brother releases a quick sigh and frowns. "Splitting up is a bad idea," he says with a shake of his head._

 _Leslie swallows through the lump in her throat and resists the urge to agree. They had no other choice. They had no other family in the country and her best friend Tracey's family was the closest thing they had to a next of kin. Owen was graduating in six months and she would be eighteen in less than a year._

 _"_ _We can do this," she says out loud even as she tries to hide the shakiness in her chest as she sucks in a breath._

 _Owen uncrosses his arms and plants his hands on his hips as he hangs his head in defeat._

 _Leslie fiddles with her cardigan and tries not to draw his attention to the way it hangs off of her shoulders like an oversized cloth. So she'd lost a little weight, grief does that to a person. It's not like Owen didn't have his own dark circles under his eyes and sallow skin. It's only been a month after all._

 _She watches as her brother drops down onto his knees in front of her like he hasn't done since she was ten._

 _"_ _I want you to call me whenever, okay? I'm only five hours away and if you need me, I don't care what time it is, I'll be here, okay?"_

 _Leslie doesn't bite at her lower lip like she wants to. Doesn't let her eyes water even as they burn inside her head._

 _She just nods silently with obedience._

 _Owen nods back reassuringly even as he mutters, "we can do this." To her or to himself, she has no idea._

 _Leslie holds out a hand and Owen threads his fingers between hers, grip solid and strong._

 _"_ _We can do this," she repeats._

-x-

Derek hums as he wakes up to the sensation of soft kisses against his temple. Fingers run through his hair even as he remembers that he and Leslie had been napping in her bed. She hadn't shown up at the coffee shop earlier so he'd climbed up her fire escape and crawled through her living room window.

"I'm sorry. I got off work late and then I didn't get to bed until 10AM," she had whined. He places the coffee and muffins he'd brought with him on the kitchen bench before toeing his shoes off and climbing into bed beside her. She was always busiest on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays so he wasn't surprised by her drowsy greeting.

He's still amazed by how easy it is to fall asleep beside her. Just the feeling of her warmth beside him and the sunshine glint of her smile makes him want to stay next to her forever.

Leslie pecks another kiss against his hairline and drapes herself over him, lips moving against his ear.

"You coming tonight? I finish at 3," she murmurs.

"I'll be there at 12," he answers, weaving a hand through her already curled hair.

She's wearing some sort of crop top and a tight fitting skirt and her eyes are already lined with eyeliner.

"Okay," she says. "I gotta go. I'll see you later."

Leslie drops a kiss onto his mouth before retreating towards the front door. He watches her as she picks up a pair of heels and shoves them into her backpack before slipping her socked feet into some well worn sneakers.

She sends him a small smile and a wave before disappearing out her front door.

When he walks into the club later that night, Big Abe is at his usual spot and greets him with a nod as he unhooks the velvet rope and lets Derek through, clapping him on the back as he passes.

A handful of Leslie's dancer friends greet him as they walk by him and Joey hands Derek a bourbon and coke and tips his chin in greeting before taking a seat beside a girl he doesn't recognise from the other night.

Derek takes a seat next to one of the many tables littered with liquor bottles and scans the crowded dance floor. He spots Leslie on the other side of the floor laughing with Gigi, the girl with the pink hair from the last time he was at Wolfsbane. There's another security guard shadowing them tonight as Leslie and Gigi talk with another woman dressed in some shorts and a tank top and holding a round tray by her side.

Derek sips on his bourbon and coke and watches Leslie nod at something the waitress says as she says something else to Gigi. The club was packed more than usual for a Friday night and he knows that it's because Ramona had some famous DJ from Vegas playing at midnight.

Leslie nods again and takes something out of Gigi's hands. She brings her hands to one of her ears and Derek realises that she's putting on earrings while continuing to chat with the waitress. They continue talking to each other for a few more minutes before he sees Ramona come out of a door by the side of the stage. She's holding a walkie in one hand and an iPad in the other and she makes her way straight to Leslie and Gigi. She swipes at the iPad and points something out to the girls and Leslie nods as she studies whatever's on the iPad screen.

Ramona pockets her walkie and drops a hand on Leslie's shoulder, saying something to the bodyguard standing by them. Leslie and Gigi follow Ramona as she heads back towards the side door she'd come out of and Derek tracks Leslie until she disappears from view.

"Hey, man. How's it going?"

Derek looks away from the door by the stage and moves over a little as Joey takes a seat beside him. The promoter offers him a hand and he takes it in a firm handshake.

"Not bad. How are you?" Derek responds cordially.

"Yeah, man, I'm good. You here for Leslie?"

Derek nods as Joey leans over a table to pour another drink for himself.

"She's a favourite, your girl," Joey says with a sidelong grin at him. He holds his glass up and Derek clinks it with his own.

"Yeah?" Derek asks, before bringing his drink to his mouth.

Joey nods before sipping his own drink. "You don't do clubs much, huh? It's easy to tell. If it's between 12 and 3 she's a favourite. Some of the newer girls, like Carla over there, were up on the podium earlier." Joey tips his chin towards the girl Derek hadn't recognised.

Derek nods and hums a noncommittal sound before turning back towards the dance floor and watching the crowd gyrate to the beat of the pounding bass. The lasers slicing through the darkness make patterns across the walls and ceiling and as the time ticks closer to midnight, the club continues to fill up to capacity.

"Hey, so what's your story? I've never seen Leslie date anyone let alone bring a guy in here before."

Derek shoots Joey a sidelong glance and shrugs. "I think we just enjoy each other's company," he answers vaguely. He tips the last of his drink into his mouth before reaching past Joey and refilling his glass.

Before Joey can probe any further, the music stops and the lasers fade out and switch to spotlights. Derek's attention is drawn back to the stage as the MC speaks into the microphone, asking the crowd if they're having a good time. The crowd cheers, a sea of arms waving in the air as the MC starts hyping up the club. A steady beat fades into the MC's speech and the spotlights go dark before flashing back on as the MC yells out the DJ's name and the crowd cheers. The music kicks in fast and hard and the lasers resume their patterns as Derek sees Gigi and Leslie glide onto their respective podiums situated on either side of the stage. Their hips sway in unison as they step up to their positions and Derek takes in Leslie's black bra and panties, legs covered in fishnet stockings, black knee high socks and wedged sneakers. There are strips of fluorescent cloth wrapped all around her torso, wrists and hips and they glow on and off with the flash of the lights. There are little balls of light wrapped around her fists and as Leslie swings her arms up and around, they create great yellow arcs of colour.

A cloud of confetti explodes from the stage and the smoke machines start to fog up the dance floor. Derek can't help but cringe against the cacophony, eyes crinkling at the corners a little as he adjusts his wolf senses and inhales a steadying breath. The music rises and falls and rises again before it peaks, and Leslie and Gigi both pause in their dance moves, slowing their motions. He catches Leslie's gaze as she holds her arms above her head, body rolling sensually with the beat. When she shoots him a tiny a smile and a wink, Derek can't help the stupid grin that plays around his mouth. Leslie is forced to break eye contact a moment later as she moves into a slow twirl and Derek raises his glass to his lips and takes a sip of his drink.

The girls change over in twenty minute intervals until two thirty in the morning. Gigi and Leslie start off and then there are two more, and then another two, before it's Gigi and Leslie again. On her last rotation, Gigi and Leslie stay up there for the extra ten minutes that's left, the crowd still going strong and feeding off the fast beat of the music. Derek watches Leslie slow her motions as the DJs change over. He's noticed that when they're about to get off the stage, Gigi and Leslie always do a thing where they raise a fist up and swing it around in a wide circle like they're cowgirls swinging a lasso around. He thinks its to signal security that they're about to get off the stage but he's not a hundred percent sure.

As he watches her raise her arm to make the signal, he sees Leslie freeze in mid-motion, eyes on something beyond the dance floor on a corner covered in shadows. Derek frowns as he sees Leslie's brow furrow with shock and confusion, and he lowers his drink from his mouth when he notices her face blanch.

He's about to get up from his seat to go see what it is that's caught her attention when she blinks and shifts her gaze to him. After taking a deep breath she reassumes her movement, circling her arm in the air while she checks on him before surreptitiously glancing away. The smile has disappeared from her mouth and her face is devoid of all colour as she finishes off. She descends from the podium and is ushered back through the door on the side of the stage.

Derek abandons his glass on the table and gives Joey a light slap on the shoulder as he slips by. He nods at Big Abe as the man holds the velvet rope open for him and Derek weaves his way through the crowd and heads towards the door that Leslie had disappeared behind. He props an elbow up against the bar and observes the crowd as he waits.

He's no stranger to distress and something out here had spooked Leslie, putting a look on her face that he's never seen before. He thinks about how long they've been spending time with each other and the way they had intentionally avoided the probing questions. Derek had always been glad of it for personal reasons, but now he's wondering what it is that Leslie could be hiding herself.

When he finally catches sight of her slipping out of the side stage door, he notices that she hasn't changed back into her dress and has opted to slip an oversized band tee over her go-go outfit instead. She's wearing the same fishnet stockings, socks and sneakers and some of the colour is back in her cheeks. Derek reaches her in a few steps and Leslie drops a hand on his elbow, neck craning as her eyes search the crowd.

Derek looks around, flashes his eyes at that darkened corner of the club and sees nothing. He tries to use his wolf's nose, but there are too many different scents, too many people emitting too many chemo signals, and he can't get a read on much of anything.

"What is it?" he questions close to her ear, looping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

She welcomes his touch and nestles into his side even as she continues to search the crowd nervously.

Derek frowns into the mass of gyrating bodies, eyes sharp and senses alert, reacting to Leslie's skittishness.

She shakes her head in answer to his question and finally glances up at him. "It's nothing, I just thought…" she shakes her head again. "Nothing. Let's just—let's get out of here."

Derek frowns down at her but follows her lead as she makes her way to the exit.

-x-

 _"_ _Les, you promised you wouldn't freak!" Owen babbles as he surges after her._

 _Leslie lunges for the kitchen knives by the stove, spins around and grips one of them hard as she waves it at the thing that had been her brother._

 _The monster freezes immediately, raising its hands up in the air in a placating gesture like a normal human being._

 _"_ _Leslie, calm down," it says through a mouthful of fangs and eyes as gold as the sun. It takes a step towards her and Leslie immediately stumbles back a step, shoulders hitting the fridge door behind her._

 _"_ _Don't!" She orders, swiping the knife at the thing._

 _"_ _Jesus! Would you be careful?! You don't even know how to use that thing, for fuck's sake, sis! Calm down, it's still_ _ **me**_ _!"_

 _She looks on with wide eyes as the thing that was her brother gives his head a fast shake, ridding himself of the fangs filling his mouth. He squeezes his eyes closed and when he opens them again she's met with hazel eyes almost identical to her own._

 _Leslie doesn't blink. Doesn't lower the knife even as she realises that the person in front of her is her brother. Again._

 _"_ _Owen?" she asks in a tiny voice because what. The. Fuck._

 _Owen holds out his hands in a non-threatening gesture and glances at the knife between them warily. "It's me, I promise. Put the knife down and I'll explain everything."_

 _Leslie tightens her grip around the knife and holds her ground._

 _"_ _Oh-kay, I'll explain now, then."_

 _"_ _Yeah, you do that," she spits out, trying to get her breathing and the pounding of her heart under control._

 _"_ _Um…so, um…I'm—I'm a werewolf."_

 _Leslie glares at her brother incredulously and then, "are you on fucking drugs?!" She waves the knife again forcing Owen to jump back and allowing her to skitter away from him and around the kitchen island._

 _"_ _I'm fucking calling the cops, you fucking psycho!" She grabs for her cell phone with her free hand. "It's no wonder you don't call or visit any more! You're tripping on acid or something, fucking fake fangs and contacts…" She swipes the screen open. "We split up for one fucking year and this is what you get yourself into, fucking idiot brother—fucking—a—"_

 _The phone is swiped from her hand and her knife hand is suddenly pinned to the wall behind her as Owen lunges forward, restraining her but not hurting her. Leslie's breath stills in her chest as her brother's face stops inches from her own._

 _"_ _They're not fake fangs!" Her brother snaps, his eyes once again glowing a brilliant gold and canines lengthening slowly – right before her very eyes. "I'm. A. Werewolf."_

 _Her brother says it slowly – like it would be any easier to digest that way. He doesn't move to release her because she knows that Owen knows the look she gets when she's trying to get her head around something crazy._

 _"_ _And I'm not on drugs," Owen adds quickly, blinking away the glow in his eyes and willing away his fangs. He watches her warily for a minute before speaking again. "I'm gonna let you go now. Don't call the cops."_

 _It's a testament to how well he knows her when he doesn't say anything about freaking out. Leslie stays as still as possible as she feels Owen's hands around her wrists loosen their hold. They're watching each other with wide eyes as he pulls his hands away, waves them a little in front of her face, and takes a step back with an exaggerated raise of his eyebrows._

 _A moment passes by as they continue to stare at each other and then Owen shoves a restless hand through his hair. She sees him do that squinty eye thing he always does when he's stressed, and Leslie releases the breath she'd been holding and relaxes against the counter, because, yep, that's her brother._

 _"_ _H-how did you…I mean—you were normal the last time I saw you. Right?"_

 _Owen flashes her a guilty look and Leslie gasps. "Are you freaking kidding me."_

 _"_ _I was only visiting for the weekend; it was easy to hide! I'm sorry," he adds._

 _"_ _H-how, Owen?! How are you even—I can't even believe we're talking about this! I can't even believe this isn't a joke, like, explain yourself, right now!" she demands as she feels the blood rush back into her limbs and her arms start waving around hysterically, almost of their own accord._

 _Owen sighs with resignation and slumps against the kitchen counter behind him. "I was walking back to my apartment one night, as cliché as it sounds. It was late and…something_ _ **bit**_ _me. That's…" he shrugs. "That's it. Then, I turned into this."_

 _"_ _That's it?" Leslie is more surprised at how anticlimactic that just was._

 _Owen shrugs again._

 _"_ _Okay, wait, but who bit you?"_

 _"_ _I don't know, Leslie, I was kind of busy trying to get to a hospital."_

 _"_ _The hospital saw this and didn't get suspicious?!"_

 _"_ _No!" Owen snaps irritably. Leslie shuts her mouth and glares at her brother until he takes a deep calming breath and sends her an apologetic look before continuing. "A friend ended up helping me out. Med school."_

 _"_ _So, what, you're like some…magical…creature now?"_

 _She thinks about all the fairy tales their mom used to read them, and then all the movies they used to watch together as they'd grown older. Witches and zombies and ghosts…that was their thing! Halloween was their thing. They had four years between them, but Leslie and her brother had always bonded over supernatural things. And now there's_ _ **this.**_

 _Owen rolls his eyes at her. "I'm not a fucking unicorn, Les."_

 _"_ _Well, I'm sorry, it's not every day that your brother tells you he's a werewolf. I think I'm allowed some free passes here." Because, hello, werewolves! Leslie deserved a minute or two, thank you very much._

 _Although she's pretty surprised at how_ _ **not**_ _surprised she actually is._

 _Her brother huffs a breathless laugh at her as she puts the kitchen knife she's still holding safely on the counter._

 _"_ _I can't believe you waved a knife at me."_

 _Leslie frowns at him. "You had teeth and claws, what did you expect me to do, smile?"_

 _"_ _Oh, hey there! My dear snarky little sister is back. I was wondering where she'd gone."_

 _"_ _Probably the same place my_ _ **human**_ _brother went," Leslie snarks back, and this time she's doing the eye rolling. She crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow at her brother._

 _"_ _Hey, I don't deserve that. It's not like I asked to get bitten." Owen points a finger at her accusingly even though there's no real malice in his tone._

 _Leslie shakes her head at him, half with dismay and half with disbelief. "I can't believe you're a fucking werewolf."_

 _-x-_

A/N: I have a tumblr now! Say hi to me at sahbelwrites . tumblr . com


	3. Chapter 3

Leslie is quiet during the cab ride home and Derek decides to leave it be for the moment. He gives her the space she needs by staying silent, letting her have the chance to gather her thoughts after whatever happened at the club had scattered them so badly.

He urges Les to go ahead and unlock the apartment building door as he hangs back to pay the cab driver. She hovers by the doorway, watching as the cab driver pulls away and Derek takes the front steps two at a time. Her backpack and the oversized t-shirt makes her look smaller than she already is, and the first thing he does is take the bag off her shoulders as they enter the building. They climb the stairs together until they reach her apartment - _407, just in case you've forgotten -_ and he reaches around her with the key already in his hand, and unlocks the door.

Leslie runs a gentle hand over his arm before continuing into her apartment. Derek follows shortly behind her, putting her backpack down by the dining table as he senses Leslie move into her room. He passes her sneakers, which lie discarded by the couch, casually toed off in mid-stride. He shrugs off his jacket and leaves it on the arm of the couch before continuing into Leslie's room. She's slipped into another oversized shirt and is laying in bed, on her side, hand tucked under her cheek and watching him.

Derek toes off his boots and unbuckles his belt, pulling it out of the belt loops and laying it on the armchair in the corner of her room.

"Should start keeping some extra clothes here if this is how it's going to be," she murmurs softly, watching him pull his shirt off over his head. Derek hangs it over the arm of the armchair before finally taking the space she'd left for him in the bed. Leslie lets him get comfortable before scooting over and tucking herself into his side.

"I'll remember that for next time," he answers, stroking a hand down her arm. She sighs quietly, warm breath ghosting over his chest. She tucks her arms against his side, burrowing into him further even though there's nowhere left to go.

They recline in silence for a while. He knows she's tired, it being 4AM and all, but the sound of her heartbeat in his ears tells him that she hasn't fallen asleep.

Derek risks it.

Cares enough about her to risk having his head chewed off. Cares enough to ask the questions that might make her push him away. Cares enough to try and find out more.

"What happened at the club, babe?"

It's a simple question and he says it in the most careful way he knows how. His tone is gentle and unassuming, and he hopes that it makes her feel like she can tell him about whatever it is.

Leslie doesn't stiffen against him but she does release a distraught sigh before turning to hide her face in the space between his neck and shoulder. Derek strokes a hand over her hair, drops a kiss onto her head and waits.

"I thought I saw someone I knew." Her voice is muffled against him but he understands every word. Who could she have seen that would make her face blanch like that?

"Who?" he says aloud.

"Someone from before here. A friend of my brother's."

 _He was like you._

He recalls the words she had used before as she explained her tattoos to him, and it makes Derek tense up as he tries to figure out what this means.

"Another werewolf? Here? What do they want?"

Leslie shakes her head without removing it from where it's hidden in the crook of his neck. "No, it's okay. He wasn't…" She lifts her head and looks at him, propping herself up against his chest. "I _thought_ I saw him, but it was a mistake. I made a mistake," she explains, even as her brow furrows with doubt.

Derek studies her face. Tries to make sense of her anxiety but doesn't know enough of anything.

"You don't sound so sure about that," he says aloud.

Leslie shakes her head again, this time with more certainty. "No, it was mistake. It can't have been who I thought it was. It's just not…it wouldn't make sense."

Her tone brooks no argument and Derek knows that this is all he's going to get for the night. He brushes her hair away from her face and ducks to catch her gaze.

"Easy," he drawls, trying to soothe her restlessness. Despite her words, Leslie's muscles are coiled tight and the furrow in her brow stays where it is. Derek rubs a gentle thumb over the frown until the tension in her forehead fades. "Take a deep breath. I don't know why you're freaked, but everything's okay right now and you need to get some rest."

Leslie's does as she's told, inhales slowly then exhales, relaxing a little as she watches him with wide eyes.

"I'm here, okay? And everything's okay."

His words seem to pacify her further as she softens against him, warm hazel eyes still focussed on his face. Derek doesn't stop stroking her hair back with the whole palm of his hand and eventually her eyes start to droop, blinking at him sleepily.

"I've always felt safe with you, y'know?" she whispers. "Even on that first night when you were all wolfed out. I still knew that you were there to save me."

"Shhh…" Derek soothes, watching her eyelids move slower and slower until they don't open again.

-x-

 _Leslie watches Owen disappear into his bedroom carrying a box of his stuff with him and then she finds herself standing alone in the middle of their new living room. In their new apartment. She and her brother, together again._

 _She reaches over to the box sitting on top of the coffee table they'd snagged from a garage sale the other day, and pulls open the cardboard flaps. Slowly, she reaches in through the clusters of bubble wrap and newspaper and starts unwrapping the photo frames they'd moved into storage almost two years earlier._

 _It didn't hurt any less, seeing the photos again. The way her family once was. Immortalised so perfectly with a click of a button._

 _Leslie brushes the newspaper off of the photo frame in her grasp, lets the paper drift back into the open box, and wipes her fingers over the four smiling faces staring back at her. It's easy to get lost in the memory._

 _It's easy to be back in high school. To be sitting with her parents and watching her brother graduate. The memory is as fresh in her mind as if it were yesterday. Owen being called up to the stage, flashing them a grin as he raises his diploma into the air._

 _"_ _That's my boy!" her dad had yelled proudly._

 _"_ _You should put that where we can see it." Owen's voice drifts into her memory and she looks up from the picture to catch him leaning against the door frame of his bedroom door, arms crossed over his chest, gaze soft as he tries to send her comfort without words._

 _She flashes him a small smile, looks around her and decides on the mantle above the fireplace – where she thinks_ _ **all**_ _the photos should be, now that she's thought about it._

 _"_ _You think they're watching out for us?" she asks, voice soft. She knows that Owen hears her anyway – supernatural hearing and all._

 _She looks around just in time to see him nod confidently. "They're watching."_

 _Her brother straightens and makes his way towards the kitchen where there are still several unpacked boxes waiting for them. As he nears a box sitting on top of the kitchen counter, Leslie sees him flick his claws out, slicing neatly through the packing tape keeping the box sealed shut._

 _She huffs a light laugh at him and shakes her head. "Show off."_

 _Owen winks at her from the kitchen before he starts in on the individually bubble wrapped crockery._

 _-x-_

Derek wakes up a few hours later at around 10AM and leaves Leslie asleep in her own bed to run some errands.

The first time he'd lived in New York with Laura, they'd started up a joint account on top of their inheritances and the insurance money. With a lifestyle like theirs, Laura had thought it to be a good idea to have an easily accessible 'bank', since 'emergencies' were kind of a regular thing and it was always better to be prepared. They had talked it over carefully and had decided that a certain amount of each of their pay checks would go into that account, _just in case._

Derek remembers not caring one way or another how much money his sister asked of him, unable to focus on anything more than the overwhelming grief he was shrouded in. Now that he's older though, he's able to look back and see how good of an alpha his sister would have been. Was becoming.

She hadn't been much older than him but their mother had groomed her well. Through their grief she had kept it together, made sure they were safe, made sure _he_ was safe. Protected him even when he couldn't care less if he lived or died. After the fire took everyone but them, Laura had closed ranks. Not so much that he noticed back then, but now he thinks back and recalls moments with a newfound knowledge, a new set of eyes. A new understanding that could only come after having a pack of his own and then losing it. An instinctive urge to close ranks that could only come after you find yourself in the company of those who haven't yet learned to protect themselves.

He remembers the way she hadn't let daily routines slide. He remembers the way she continued to enforce meal times and eating together because, _you can't let me eat by myself, Der. Please? I don't want to be alone._ Like she was oblivious to his depression and constant self-loathing, like _she_ was the weaker one and not him.

He wishes, not for the first time, that she was still with them. Wishes that she was alive to banter with Cora, close ranks against the world for them, be their alpha. There isn't a day that he doesn't think about her, and maybe it's because he's headed to the bank to close their account that the memories feel fresh today. It's the last thing he has that ties him to Laura, and he finds that it's just as difficult to sever the connection as it was to find out that she was gone.

He gets to the bank. He informs them about her death. He tells them to transfer half of what's left into another account under the name of Derek Hale, and the other half under the name of Cora Hale. It's an old bank and they're still in the middle of switching to digital, so he doesn't think anything of it when the accounts clerk comes out with a folder filled with forms from five years ago. He's tapping away on his computer as Derek signs off on the accounts closure. He doesn't know what makes him flip through the paperwork in the folder but as he reaches the final page, his breath gets caught in his throat at the sight of black, elegant script decorating the bottom right side of the last page.

 _Laura Hale._

Derek rubs a thumb over the signature. Can almost feel the press of the pen to the paper, the scratch of the tip against the page. Her face is fresh in his mind from the last time he'd seen her alive, all big brown eyes and glowing smile. It's been too long and he's probably imagining it, but he thinks he can just catch the last vestiges of her scent embedded into the pages; see the invisible marks of her fingers and skin as she signed off on this page.

"Mr Hale?"

The clerk is watching him politely, hand outstretched for the folder he's still got in his hands. Derek clears his throat, lets go of the pages and hands the folder back to the man.

"Is there anything else?" he asks, standing as the clerk does the same from behind his desk.

"No, sir, it's all done. Half into your account and the other half transferred into one Miss Cora Hale. Is there anything else that you'd like me to help you with today, sir?"

Derek shakes his head and takes the clerk's offered hand in a solid handshake. The clerk nods at him and thanks him for his business, walking him towards the exit and giving him a polite nod as he continues out the door.

The mid-morning sun streams through the narrow gaps between the buildings around him and the street is alive with the bustle of the city. Derek pauses on the side walk and squints. He lets the warmth of the sunlight wash over his skin, lets the memory of his sister float into the light and lets the sunshine remind him, instead, of hazel eyes and inked skin. Leslie's smile is blinding in his mind's eye. Her skin is warm against his fingertips and her kiss is comforting.

And as he lets himself think of her, of what he has waiting for him and the possibilities of what could be, he finds himself breathing a little easier. The knot in his chest unravels until it isn't as heavy as before. The tension in his shoulders relax as he takes in a great lungful of air.

 _You'd like her, Laur'._

He doesn't say it out loud, but in his head they're standing across from each other in their old kitchen, at their old apartment. Laura sends him a fond smile, reaches forward and tries to ruffle his hair and – as his younger self tries to duck away – flashes him red, alpha eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

_"_ _Oh, big brother, don't you dare lay the blame on me for the emptiness of our fridge," Leslie singsongs as she takes one item after another out of Owen's hand and packs them into a paper bag._

 _Owen shoots her a sidelong glance before reaching into their grocery cart, grabbing some eggs and scanning the carton before handing it to her._

 _"_ _I blame you for finishing off the last of the cereal, though," he responds as he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and inserts some cash into the self-serve machine._

 _Leslie snorts and shakes her head, packing the last of the groceries away._

 _She grabs a bag and cradles it in her arms, standing patiently as Owen takes the receipt from the machine, shoves it into the bag of groceries she left for him and picks up said bag. Leslie grins. She'd deliberately left him the bag with the orange juice and milk because, heavy!_

 _"_ _So, pizza for lunch or something? Or there's that café we've been meaning to try—"_

 _"_ _Owen."_

 _Her brother stops mid-sentence as they're exiting the grocery store, and she must be missing something because she hears Owen start to rumble a low, continuous growl as their way is blocked by the man who just called her brother by name. A man that she knows neither of them have ever seen before. Right?_

 _Owen's growling doesn't desist even as he lets his grip loosen on the door he's still holding open for her. Her brother steps to the side, his arm outstretched slightly in front of her, urging her to stay behind him even as they move away from the store's entrance._

 _The man watches them with light amusement. "That's right. You know me even if you don't recognize me, don't you?"_

 _Leslie frowns, craning her neck to see over Owen's arm and shoulder. The man couldn't have been much older than forty. He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt, jeans and boots. He didn't look incriminating but there was something in his eyes that gave Leslie a bad feeling, not to mention the low growl that Owen continued to emit. It was one she had never heard before, one that sounded like it came from a different part of his throat, a part that wasn't quite human._

 _"_ _I'm sorry I had to leave you so quickly that night. I was…not of sound mind. Poisoned, if you will," the man says smoothly._

 _"_ _I don't know what you're talking about," Owen replies. His words are muffled and she realises that it's because he's struggling to control the growth of his fangs._

 _"_ _Sure you do." The man takes two steps towards them and Owen immediately steps back, causing Leslie to stumble along with him._

 _"_ _Listen, I don't know what you're doing here but I want nothing to do with it. Just leave me alone," her brother says steadily._

 _"_ _Owen," the man hums disappointedly. "You can't tell me you're happy to just be an omega, do you? All that potential? A werewolf needs his pack to be strong. And I told you I'd be back for you."_

 _Leslie's eyes widen with confusion. She holds her tongue and keeps her lips sealed tight even though a thousand questions start flying around in her head._

 _"_ _Tell you what," the man continues. "Why don't I give you some time to think about it." He steps forward again, and Leslie gasps as her back hits the brick wall behind her, Owen's large body blocking most of her from view. She looks on in silence, breath stuck in her chest as the man halts a foot away._

 _Owen lets out a threatened snarl and she watches claws sprout from the hand closest to her._

 _"_ _Eaaasy, pup. That's no way to greet your alpha," the man drawls, his eyes flickering into a deep shade of blood red on his next purposeful blink._

 _Owen lets out another snarl, and she grabs her brother's shoulder because he looks like he's about to lunge – not that she would be able to stop him if he did. Owen pins her hand on his shoulder with his golden wolf-eyes, turning away from the alpha for only a second, but when they both look back, the sidewalk is empty and the alpha is gone._

 _-x-_

Cora texts him to get milk and coffee on the way home and he stops by the corner store a block away from their apartment building. He grabs a basket from the stack he passes on the way in and pauses by the fresh produce section, deciding that he might as well get some fresh fruits as well. He and Cora were laying low but it didn't mean they had to sacrifice healthy eating habits.

As he lines up to pay, he glances at the clock hanging on the wall behind the cashier and wonders if he should wait until 1:30 for Leslie to wake up and grab some lunch with her. The cashier asks him for $13.50 with a flirtatious smile that Derek ignores.

His phone buzzes in his pocket as he pauses by the front door of his apartment building to fish for his keys. He shoves the key into the lock and ignores his phone as it buzzes again.

As he reaches their floor, Cora swings their door open and looks at him expectantly. Derek rolls his eyes at her but holds out the bag of groceries for her to take. His sister flounces away from the open doorway and Derek strolls through it, pushing it shut behind him.

"How was your night?" Cora calls from where she's fiddling with the coffee maker in the kitchen. Derek pulls his phone out of his pocket as he slides onto a bar stool by the breakfast bar.

"It was fine. Went to _Wolfsbane_ , had a drink and waited for Leslie to finish her shift."

"Ah-huh," Cora replies, grinning at him knowingly. Derek raises an eyebrow at her as his sister nods at him. "And how was that?"

"It was fine," he repeats, letting his amusement show on his face with the movement of his eyebrows. Derek spins his phone between his thumb and forefinger until it's the right way up and lights up the screen with his thumb.

There are two messages waiting for him and neither of them are from Leslie. The smile fades from his face and he knows the moment Cora notices it when she murmurs a curious, "what?".

 **Derek? If this is still your number, text me**

 **I think we need your help dude**

"It's from Scott," he says aloud, not quite knowing how to react.

Cora's eyes widen and she almost chokes on the coffee she'd just sipped from the mug in her hand. "What does it say?!" She croaks, grimacing.

"He wants me to text him back," Derek murmurs, still staring down at his phone screen.

"Are you going to?" Cora questions, placing her cup on the breakfast bar and watching him with an inquisitive look on her face.

Derek looks up at her and shrugs uncertainly. It's been almost a year since they left Beacon Hills. They've been keeping their noses clean for just as long and things have been okay. Derek doesn't know if he wants in on that whole shebang again. Doesn't know if it's worth the grief to get wrapped up in the supernatural again.

Derek looks back down at the messages. He doesn't even know why he's hesitating because the answer is _yes_. He's going to text Scott back, because a) if they're texting him, then they've got no one else to turn to, and b) he is his mother's son and he is Laura's brother, and even if he wasn't the one who was groomed to be an alpha, he still didn't have it in him to turn them away like this.

"They wouldn't be messaging me if they had somewhere else to turn," he says with another shrug.

Cora slumps against the counter behind her and nods at him silently. "Okay," she acquiesces, letting him know with one word that she will follow him in whatever he decides.

Derek leans forward in his seat and texts a reply. **_What's going on?_**

Not even a minute passes before his phone lights up with an incoming call and Scott's caller ID. Derek picks up on the second ring.

"Scott."

"Hey man," Scott's voice is faint like he's got Derek on loudspeaker. "Okay, first off, we're not in complete panic mode over this, but I figured that we should at least ask you about it."

Cora eyes him and shrugs, stepping forward to pick up the mug of coffee she'd abandoned earlier.

"Ask me about what?" Derek says into the phone.

"There's another pack hanging around on the outskirts of Beacon Hills. They say they're from San Diego. The alpha is looking for something called a Cylph? Do you have any idea what that is?"

"—Cylphius Halorium," Stiles' disembodied voice comes through the phone, cutting Scott off. Loudspeaker, indeed. "Lydia heard it with her…super powers. Apparently the wind in the preserve talks to her now. Hi, Derek."

"Stiles," Derek acknowledges flatly.

"I've checked everything we've got, Lydia and I went through every page in the bestiary and found nothing. Any chance that your family hid it somewhere on the preserve or somewhere else in Beacon Hills?" Stiles questions.

Derek glances at Cora who shrugs again.

"I'm sorry, I've never heard of it…"

"—But, we'll look into it over here for you, too," Cora interjects without raising her voice.

"What?" Stiles asks, at the same time that Scott repeats what Cora had just said.

"I have a bunch of old books in a storage unit here, what was left of my mom's private collection. I'll let you know if we find anything," Derek elaborates smoothly.

"Thanks, man. We really appreciate the help," Scott says earnestly.

"Yeah, thanks, sourwolf," Stiles chimes in.

"No problem. I'll be in touch," he says before ending the call.

Cora takes a sip of her coffee. "Cylphius Halorium…" she murmurs thoughtfully.

Derek lets the corner of his phone tap the bench gently as he returns Cora's thoughtful stare.

He ends up sending a text to Leslie saying that he can't make it to the coffee shop that afternoon but if she's up for it, he can bring some dinner to her apartment before she leaves for work. Leslie replies with an apologetic raincheck, saying that she'd already committed to dinner with her dancer friends before heading to _Wolfsbane_ that night, and just like that, Derek finds himself free for the rest of the day to look into this Cylph-thing.

Cora comes out of her room as she's pulling a jacket on and he looks up from his seat on the couch.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm coming with you, Der-bear," Cora replies matter-of-factly.

"Um, no you're not? I'm just gonna be reading through a bunch of Mom's books, you don't have to help me with that."

"Or, we could go to the storage unit together, grab the books you're talking about, bring them back here and look through them together in the comfort of our own home," Cora reasons calmly.

Derek can't think of a reply that would convince her enough to stay so he just sighs with defeat before standing up and shoving his phone into his pocket.

-x-

find me at sahbelwrites . tumblr . com !


	5. Chapter 5

_She storms into the apartment in the wake of her brother and carelessly dumps her bag of groceries on the kitchen counter._

 _"_ _What the hell was that?!" she demands, watching as her brother starts violently putting away the stuff they got from the store._

 _Leslie spins on her heels as Owen continues to whizz by her, putting the eggs in the fridge, box of cereal in the cupboard, cans in the pantry, back to the fridge with the juice…_

 _"_ _Owen!"_

 _"_ _What!" Her brother snaps, slamming the pantry door so hard that it cracks on impact. His eyes flare with gold and Leslie snaps her mouth shut, instinctively backing down even as she continues to glare at her brother._

 _Owen's chest is heaving with each of his quick breaths and she watches as he balls his hands into fists, sucking in a long deep breath through his nose as he lets his eyelids drift shut for a minute. When he opens them again, they're back to their normal hazel hue._

 _"_ _That night that I got bitten," he starts, fists uncurling slowly as he continues to talk. "I thought I imagined someone saying they'd be back for me. I thought I dreamed it, but I guess…"_

 _"_ _What does it mean that he's your alpha?"_

 _Owen looks at her with wide eyes. "I think it means that he might have control over me."_

 _She feels the burn in her eyes even though she doesn't let the tears fall. She hasn't cried in a long time and she's not about to start that shit again now. What will it mean if this_ _ **alpha**_ _has control over her brother?_

 _"_ _C-can he take you from me?" She almost can't say it out loud._

 _Owen looks at her sharply, startled. It's enough of an answer for her but as she breaks eye contact and takes a step away from him, Owen bursts into action._

 _"_ _No," her brother grabs her wrist, his grasp strong but gentle. Leslie looks back at him with doubt clear on her face. "No, okay? He's not taking me anywhere – I won't allow it. I already told him that I don't want any part of his pack and that's not gonna change."_

 _"_ _But are you weak?"_

 _Owen frowns with confusion. "What?"_

 _"_ _He said a werewolf needs his pack to be strong. You don't have a pack, Owen," she whispers dejectedly. It was different if her brother had to go because he_ _ **needed**_ _to. Leslie would have to make herself let him go._

 _"_ _Sis, werewolf packs are usually made up of their families so you don't have to worry about that, okay? I have a pack. It's you," he explains confidently._

 _Leslie takes a moment to study the sincere look on Owen's face. Brushes away the doubt that had been blossoming inside her. The doubt directed towards her brother._

 _"_ _We're still doing this," Owen adds, referring to the words they had repeated to each other from that first time, when they'd realised that they were about to get split up._

 _Leslie nods in answer. "A-huh. Together."_

 _-x-_

It's 4 o'clock by the time Derek gets back to the apartment. He strides over to the breakfast bar and places the large box of books he was carrying on the bench. Cora comes through the front door a moment later carrying a slightly smaller box of books, which she drops unceremoniously on the floor beside the coffee table.

She turns to look at him, sighing quickly and propping her hands on her hips. Derek shrugs his jacket off his shoulders and hooks it over the back of one of the bar stools.

"Tea?" he asks his sister, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Definitely _,"_ Cora answers before sitting on the edge of the couch, pulling open the cardboard flaps of the box in front of her and reaching into it. She pulls out a stack of three ancient texts and starts running her eyes over the covers.

The clock's just going on 7:30 when Derek finally finds something with bleary eyes. Cora's still sitting on the couch, legs crossed now and a book open in her lap. Every inch of the coffee table in front of her is covered in open texts or stacks of yellowing paperbacks.

The breakfast bar in front of him looks similar to the coffee table in front of Cora. He's got three piles going; readable, unreadable and read. Derek leans in and rubs a finger over the page he's been poring over. The book smells of old age and _basement_ and it makes his nose wrinkle as the scent assaults him.

 _"_ _The Cylphius Halorium or Cylph can serve as a powerful tool for an alpha. Once much coveted by the lycan, when used in the vicinity of telluric currents, can create an immense charge of power within he who holds it. Unbridled or unacceptable use may be the genesis of sacrific—"_

Derek frowns and checks over the page but the paragraph stops where it looks like the words have rubbed off with age. He rereads the three measly lines and sighs. _That's it?_

He heaves a frustrated sigh and looks over his shoulder at Cora. "Found something," he calls flatly. There isn't really much to be excited about, considering the fact that the paragraph tells him nothing about what it is, what it looks like or where he can find the damn thing.

There's a rustle of movement from the couch, a thump against the coffee table and then Cora's presence at his back as she looks over his shoulder at the page he's staring at.

"…genesis of sacrifice? Sacrificial…? that's it? what does that even mean?" Cora muses.

Derek slips the book onto the bar in front of him and squeezes his eyes shut as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Let's take a break," he mumbles.

Cora hums in agreement and rounds the breakfast bar, heading towards the fridge to grab the juice. She pulls out two glasses from one of the cupboards, fills both of them and holds one out to Derek.

Derek takes the glass of orange juice and pulls out his phone. As Cora starts pawing through the pantry for something to eat, Derek types out a text message to Scott with his thumb while taking a sip of his juice.

 ** _Call me when you can._**

Cora steps back from where she's had her head in the fridge and waves two packets of ravioli at him.

"Ready in 5 to 6 minutes," she says to him.

"Not if you're cooking," he teases, putting his phone on the bar and taking a packet from her.

"Hey!"

Derek huffs a quiet laugh, stands up from his seat and joins Cora in the kitchen.

-x-

 _"_ _Good evening, little one. Any idea where your brother might be?"_

 _The voice is cordial and smooth as it calls to her from over her shoulder and Leslie can't help but freeze in her tracks, eyes wide as they stare at her car, still parked in the same spot since that morning but unfortunately still a good hundred yards away._

 _"_ _Jesus, you sound like you're about to have a heart attack. Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," the alpha continues, his footsteps against the pavement loud to her human ears as they near her._

 _Leslie swallows through the lump in her throat and tightens her fingers around the car keys in her hand until the metal bites into her palm._

 _"_ _I'm surprised that he let you out to wander around alone at a time like this, especially after our encounter the other day. He was quite protective of you," the alpha muses as he circles her once and then comes to a stop in front of her._

 _"_ _He's my brother, what do you expect?" she retorts, raising her head in defiance._

 _The alpha raises an eyebrow at her and crosses his arms over his chest, contemplating. "I like a girl with mettle, you'd make a good werewolf. Would you like to be like your brother?" he queries gently, taking a step towards her._

 _Leslie holds her ground, raises her chin even further and tightens her fist hard enough around her car keys to make her palm sting._

 _"_ _Owen already told you that he wants nothing to do with you, and neither do I, so just leave us alone." She's surprised that her voice isn't shaking – and relieved at the same time that it isn't._

 _"_ _I don't recall my giving him a choice, little one," the alpha muses, cocking his head to the side and watching her with predatory interest._

 _Leslie's bravado falters and she takes a step back, but she doesn't let the alpha out of her sight. It must have something to do with him being the ultimate predator that makes her feel like crying hysterically and hightailing it in the opposite direction simultaneously._

 _"_ _You tell Owen that he has until midnight, tomorrow, to be at the train station." The alpha ambles towards her and traces a finger down her cheek. "If he fails to comply, it's not him I'll be coming after because that wouldn't be practical. You tell your brother that I'll be coming for_ _ **you.**_ _Understand?"_

 _Leslie clenches her jaw and suppresses the urge to run. She glares at the alpha towering over her, his eyes a blood curdling red as he pins her with his werewolf-gaze._

 _"_ _I suggest that you blink now, little one," he drawls smoothly as he runs his fingers down her face. She can't help shutting her eyes as they pass over her eyelids. Leslie wrenches her head away from his touch and hurries to look back, but the alpha is already gone._

 _-x-_

"Hey man, did you find anything?" Scott's voice is tired as it carries through the line and Derek pulls his phone away from his ear to check the time. _10:30PM._ They are three hours ahead of California.

"Yeah, it's not much but I figured I'd let you guys know. Everything all right over there?" Derek queries.

"For the moment, yeah. Stiles and Lydia managed to stall the alpha from entering our territory for now, but he seems to think he can sniff out this _Cylph_ once he catches its scent?"

Derek hovers over by the breakfast bar, looking down at the open book he'd left on it earlier. He runs his eyes over the words once more before relaying the words to Scott.

"Uhh, that's it? What does that even mean?"

Derek resists the urge to roll his eyes. He's probably heard that question more times in one day than he has in the last three months.

"Cora and I will keep researching but there's not a lot of books left from my mother's collection. Tell Stiles and Lydia what I told you and ask Deaton what he thinks as well. It says here that it can be used around telluric currents, so I'll bet you anything that that alpha you're dealing with is going to be looking for the Nemeton," Derek hypothesises.

He can almost see Scott nodding thoughtfully on the other end of the line. "Stiles' dad has a deputy that can help us with that. I'll tell Lydia to get him on it. Thanks, man."

"Scott," Derek calls before the younger man starts ending the call. "If the alpha starts getting antsy, hold your ground, all right? Beacon Hills is your territory now and he has to respect that."

"O-okay," Scott answers, uncertainty still evident in his tone. "But, dude, it kind of isn't? I mean, you're still—"

"Scott," he interrupts again, his voice steady. "I'm not an alpha anymore. There's nothing I can do to hold on to that territory, it's gotta be you."

"Okay."

"I'll call you back if I find anything. Keep us posted, okay?"

"I will. Thanks, man."

Derek disconnects the call and glances at his home screen where he finds a message from Leslie. A photo pops up when he opens the message and it's a snap of Leslie in a pink bra and black shorts, standing in some sort of locker room in front of a full length mirror.

 **Checking in. Feels like we haven't** ** _not_** **met at the coffee shop everyday in years.**

Derek texts back immediately. **_Tomorrow?_**

 **Yes, pls. Definitely :) x**

-x-

 _"_ _Pack your stuff, we're leaving."_

 _Leslie gapes at her brother from the middle of their living room as Owen starts grabbing things right and left. "W-what? What do you mean we're leaving? We can't just leave, are you crazy?! What about your job?! What about school?!"_

 _Owen strides past her and Leslie trails after him, watching in stunned silence as Owen dumps a pile of clothes on top of his bed and grabs a backpack from under it._

 _"_ _Owen, stop, this is fucking crazy! Let's just talk about this for a minute…"_

 _"_ _Les, trust me when I say that you don't know what we're up against! This is an_ _ **alpha werewolf**_ _we're talking about. Even_ _ **I**_ _know that we should run, and I haven't even been one of them for very long! Go and pack your stuff!"_

 _"_ _But, Owen—"_

 _Owen stops abruptly to look her directly in the eyes. "Sis, this is not open for discussion. We can talk once I'm sure we're safe, okay? Maybe we can figure out a way to get out of this somehow, find people who can help – but for now, go pack your stuff," he commands apologetically._

 _Leslie turns around without replying and heads to her room._

 _"_ _Lock everything up. You never know, we might be back."_

 _Leslie shoulders her backpack and stares dejectedly at the back of her brother's head. Owen takes his keys from the hook by the door and pockets his phone. He swings his bag over his shoulder, pulls the door open and—_

 _"_ _I gave you a chance to choose wisely and yet here you still are." Owen's alpha is on the other side of the door and snarls the last few words furiously._

 _"_ _Les, run!" Owen screams, before lunging forward and bulldozing the alpha back into the hallway. Owen must have taken him by surprise because he moves easily, and Leslie gasps, instinct making her dart through the doorway and race towards the stairs at the far side of the hall. A roar resounds through the building, making the walls shake around her. Leslie doesn't look back, eyes focussed on the stairwell._

 _She passes one closed door after the other and hopes that none of her neighbours are home. There's a loud crash from behind her just as she grabs for the iron banister and uses it to propel her down the stairs. She clears the first flight, rounds the bend of the stairwell and suddenly stumbles to a halt. She falls back against the steps behind her, butt hitting the edge of a stair hard as she comes face to face with the werewolf blocking her way._

 _His eyes are glowing gold in the dim light and the hands that reach for her are hairy and tipped with claws. Leslie tries to scramble back and swat the hands away, but her movements are useless as the werewolf easily hauls her to her feet like she weighs nothing._

 _He grips her hard by the upper arm and drags her back up the stairs. The sounds of fighting and things crashing into each other are loud from inside hers and Owen's apartment as she and her captor draw closer to her front door. Leslie hears another crash that rattles the wall to her right and then the werewolves inside her apartment snarl and roar in unison. Leslie's captor tightens the grip he has around her upper arm as a blinding flash of light explodes from inside her apartment and a deafening howl threatens to shatter the windows. Leslie tries to block her ears, but only succeeds in doing it with her free hand, the other arm still caught in her captor's grip. The blinding light fades and she catches the last vestiges of the howl fade into pained yips and whimpers. She is left staring wide eyed at the bare space in the hallway outside her open front door._

 _What the fuck?_

 _Her captor hesitates before bursting into action again, hauling her forward. She struggles against his grip, still trying to get away. What the hell just happened? What if Owen's dead?! What if they get there and the alpha makes her one of them?!_

 _"_ _No, no, no—!" She tries to yank her arm free to no avail and her captor's long strides force her feet into a slight jog to keep up._

 _As they reach her open doorway, Owen looks up from where he's crouched over the supine body of the alpha he'd been fighting. Her captor snarls, tosses Leslie to the side and charges at Owen. Leslie watches in disbelief as Owen shoots to his feet, flashes his eyes and roars._

 _Her captor stops in his tracks, whimpers and backs up, ducks his head and immediately bares his neck to Owen. Leslie gapes and notices the blood red of Owen's eyes._

 _"_ _O'…" she gasps, bracing herself against the wall she'd fallen against._

 _Owen's gaze finds her quickly and suddenly she's facing her brother in full shift, lips curling around a full set of razor edged fangs, claws long and sharp, fur covering his skin and eyes keen and predatory._

 _He says four words and they're not in the voice she knows. It's a deeper voice, somehow – more lethal – and it vibrates when he says, "I'm the alpha now."_

 _-x-_

sahbelwrites . tumblr. com =)


	6. Chapter 6

He and Cora pore through every book until it hits 1AM and Derek notices his sister stifling a yawn. He slams the book he's been skimming shut and lets out a long sigh as he leans back against the couch.

"I've read through this one," Cora mumbles, tossing a medium sized journal onto the coffee table and mirroring his slump against the couch.

Derek hums in agreement. "Yeah, I think that's it."

They both sit for a moment, brains and eyes exhausted from going through so many books. He had eventually given her every English book he found since _he_ was the polyglot, and was the only one of the two of them who could get through Sanskrit, Latin and some Gaelic, too.

His phone buzzes on the coffee table and Derek leans forward to see the screen flashing with incoming messages from Leslie.

 **all done for the night**

 **heading home**

He'd texted her earlier and had asked her to continue checking in. Derek likes that she remembered.

 ** _stay safe. See you tomorrow._**

Leslie's reply is simple.

 **x :)**

"Okay, I can't see anymore, I'm going to bed," Cora announces through another wide yawn as she rises off the couch.

"Thanks, Cor'," he calls after her as she disappears inside her room. His sister raises her arm in a lazy wave.

Derek eyes the pile on the table, gaze pausing thoughtfully at the book he'd tagged earlier with the Cylph information. He grabs it from atop the stack it's sitting on and runs his hand over the cover of the book. It's just a simple black cover with no distinguishing marks, the words from the title so worn that they are unreadable. _Useless._

Derek sighs again. His phone buzzes from beside him on the couch and he looks down to see a text from Scott which he checks immediately.

 **Nothing to report.**

 **stlies and lyd managed to buy us a few days**

 **talk again 2mr**

Derek texts back an 'ok', rolls his shoulders and finally heads to bed.

He gets to the coffee shop earlier than usual the next day, wanting the chance to mull things around in his head while he waits for Leslie. Scott had texted him earlier that day saying that Stilinski's deputy had agreed to help them track down the location of the Nemeton. The young alpha had informed him that Lydia was helping the deputy out, which led Derek to believe that the deputy was still in the process of discovering his powers and, therefore, would take a while to find the dead tree. He tells Scott to let him know when they find it.

The coffee shop is just filling up with the lunch time rush when he manages to secure a small table bracketed by two armchairs. Derek takes a seat with yet another of his mother's books. Half of it is in Gaelic and the other in Latin, and even though he thinks he's already read through it the night before, he decides that he should probably read through it again. Mostly because he was _probably_ half asleep the first time around. Probably.

Fifteen minutes go by quietly, Derek immune to the buzz of people around him until he suddenly becomes aware of a presence across from him. If he were anyone else but Derek Hale, _born werewolf –_ and a slightly neurotic one at that – he would have thought that this guy was just another human. But even as the guy clears his throat and Derek looks up to see shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes, he knows immediately that the guy is a Were just like him.

"Hey, man, mind if I grab a seat?" the guy asks, gaze wide and innocent, and hands full with a slice of carrot cake and coffee.

Either he's really good at acting or he hasn't been a werewolf for very long because Derek doesn't see any signs of recognition on the guy's face. He's curious so he says, "sure."

The guy grins and takes a seat across from him, carefully placing his food on the table. Derek keeps a finger between the pages of the book he's reading as he closes it and watches the guy mindfully.

"Thanks, man. I didn't realise this place would be so busy. Still trying to get my bearings, y'know?"

Derek nods like he does. "New to town, huh?"

The guy shoots him another grin before taking a sip of his coffee. "Yeah, I'm not here to stay. It's more like a business trip, actually."

Derek nods again. It's not the first time he's come across bitten werewolves unable to scent their own kind even when their own kind was sitting right in front of them. It just took bitten werewolves much longer to learn how to use their new abilities (ahem, Scott) compared to born wolves, like him. It was completely possible that this guy had no idea who – or what – he was talking to, so Derek doesn't pay too much mind about it. New York City was a place full of _Other_ , and not just of the canine variety. If there's something he's learned from the many times he's lived in this city, it's that it is much less practical to think that every supernatural being he came across was after him. If he were living in a small town like Beacon Hills, then yes, it's totally okay to think that every supernatural creature that blew into town was after him, but a big city like New York? Uh-uh, no way. Thinking like that would drive a person to insanity.

"How're you liking it so far?"

The guy takes a bite of his carrot cake and nods at him. "It's okay. Not a big fan of the city, though. send me to a beach any day, I say."

Derek lets out a small huff of agreement. _Send me to the woods any day,_ he adds silently.

"The city has its perks, though. My teammate and I found this really cool club the other night, I can't remember what it's called. It's just a few blocks away from here, uh, two levels, great music and had some _awesome_ looking dancers."

"Wolfsbane," Derek supplies with a dry smirk.

The guy pulls his fork out of his mouth and points the thing at him as he replies. "That's right, that's it. Purple plant thing on the logo and white letters!"

Derek nods silently, not knowing what else to say or what to think about this guy.

"You been there? You must have, right? Guy like you wouldn't have any trouble getting in." The guy laughs at his own musings and takes another gulp of his coffee. He wipes his mouth with a napkin and brushes his hands off before finishing the rest of his drink with one final swallow.

"Anyway, I've got a meeting to get to. Thanks for the company, man," he says as he gets up from his seat.

"No problem," Derek replies cordially.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Zach," he adds, offering his hand.

Derek takes it automatically and nods.

"Derek."

-x-

 _The whole place is silent in the aftermath of Owen's roar and Leslie finds that all she can hear is the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She's still braced against the wall, silently staring at Owen as her brother glares around the room with his wolf-eyes. His fangs and claws are still out for all to see but he concentrates on forcing them away when he notices the other wolf he had just forced into submission with his roar._

 _"_ _Zachary?"_

 _Leslie looks from one boy to the other as her captor – Zachary – flinches away from her brother as Owen takes a few steps towards him. Leslie pushes off the wall and backs away as Owen continues to near the other werewolf – Zachary – who is studiously avoiding Owen's gaze and still resolutely keeping his neck bared to her brother – the_ _ **alpha.**_

 _When he's close enough, Owen slowly reaches forward with one hand and grasps the guy's shoulder._

 _"_ _Zach, it's me, Owen. He bit you, too?!" Owen's words finally seem to get through to the other guy as he slowly turns back to look into Owen's face. A moment passes as they stare at each other and then Zachary looks past Owen's shoulder at the dead alpha in their living room and lets out a low whine._

 _"_ _Jesus, Owen, you killed Cyrus, what the fuck. I'm sorry, dude, I didn't recognise you! Fuck, I can't believe you're alive, I thought I was the only one."_

 _Her brother grins at his…friend? They grasp each other by the shoulders, taking a moment to look each other up and down before hauling each other into a big, incredulous hug._

 _"_ _What the fuck, dude, holy shit, I thought you got away! How are you here? How did you even—" Owen stops abruptly as he catches sight of her still staring at them with a look of disbelief on her face._

 _"_ _Fuck, hold on, wait. Zach, dude, this is my sister, Leslie." Her brother winces as she glares at them both. "Les', we're gonna straighten this out, okay? He's good, I swear. We've been friends since I started college, I promise I won't let him do anything to hurt you."_

 _Leslie finally lets herself really look at her brother's friend and sees the remorse clear on his face. It doesn't make her feel bad for him but it_ _ **does**_ _make her feel better. Zachary looks at her with wide, searching eyes._

 _"_ _I know you probably won't accept my apology for scaring you like that, and I swear, I don't know what I was thinking, manhandling you that way. All I can say is that it's really hard to disobey an alpha – let alone the one that bit me. And I suck."_

 _Leslie continues to glare at them both, planting her feet on the hardwood floors and crossing her arms against her chest – and that's as far as they're going to get with her today, thank you very much._

 _Owen's lips thin as he lets a sigh out through his nose and drops a hand on Zach's shoulder, urging his friend to hang back as he makes his way towards her. She watches him approach until he's only a foot away._

 _"_ _Are you okay?" he murmurs, studying her face._

 _Leslie frowns at him, beyond angry because, what—she's just supposed to sit back and be cool with her brother being friends with this stranger-person/werewolf that wanted to kill her two minutes ago?!_

 _"_ _No, idiot, are you freaking kidding me?!" Sometimes it really amazes her how easily her brother can adjust to the drastic events that constantly change their lives in one second. He doesn't even seem freaked out about suddenly being an alpha werewolf. An. Alpha. Werewolf!_

 _"_ _Listen," Owen says to her, tone gentle. "Someone in this building probably heard the commotion and called the cops, and there's a dead werewolf in our living room that really needs to disappear. You gotta keep it together for at least another hour, sis. Please?"_

 _Leslie shoots him another angry glare. "I'm_ _ **not**_ _helping you clean that up."_

 _There's movement behind Owen and they both look up to see Zach already moving things around the body. "I'll help. You're definitely a much better alpha than he was. Oh, I should also let you know that he had a pack, Owen. If you know what I mean."_

 _Leslie gapes, watching as Zach starts rearranging the body's limbs. Owen turns back to her and she notices the first vestiges of uncertainty in his eyes. It looks like her brother isn't as immune to this as she thought, and it's the only reason why she does exactly what she's told without question._

 _"_ _Go wait in your room until I call you. Then we can see what Zach has to say."_

 _She nods in obedience. After all, they were still doing this – whatever this is – together._

 _-x-_

"Everything okay? You seem distracted."

Leslie's watching him curiously as he blinks himself out of his thoughts for the umpteenth time since she'd joined him at the coffee shop. She's in sweatpants and a tank top, curled up in the armchair across from him and cradling her coffee in a take-away cup.

He knows she won't push him if he tried to divert the conversation but Derek doesn't want to start hiding things from her. Doesn't want her to think that he has anything _unworthy_ of her.

"I got a call yesterday. It was…someone from my past."

"Okay," she replies slowly. She's waiting to see where he's going with this and he's glad that she's not in the mood to jump to conclusions.

"It's nothing too serious or anything, they just need my help with some research. I have some old books that could have some useful information for them. They belonged to my mom before she, uh, died."

He hears her slight intake of breath even though it's not quite a gasp. He can tell that she knows how much it pains him to talk about his past by the way she immediately tries to cut him off and reassure him. "Der—it's okay, you don't have to tell me. That's enough of an explanation—"

"It's okay. I want you to know."

Leslie closes her mouth and relaxes against her seat.

"Uh, so, I…uh—you know what I am, right?" Of course she does, she was there that first night when he'd saved her from getting mugged, duh.

Leslie nods, her expression carefully neutral.

"Okay, so, I…used to be an alpha, when I lived back in my hometown—Beacon Hills. Um, but, I'm not the alpha anymore, and the new alpha of Beacon Hills is kind of my…friend, I guess? And, uh, he's still a little young and needs my help, sometimes. Does that make sense?"

Leslie nods again.

"So, yeah, that's what I've been doing since yesterday. Just, trying to help him and his pack out with this new thing that's happening right now."

"You're not in any danger though, right?" she questions with a sceptical look on her face.

He huffs a small laugh. "No. It's way down on the danger scale compared to what we all used to get caught up in."

He hasn't had anyone express concern for him in a long time and it startles him enough that it injects some amusement in his tone, but Leslie isn't laughing. In fact, the slight frown marring her forehead makes Derek feel bad. The last thing he wanted to do is worry her so he holds out his hand and when she slips hers into his grasp, he squeezes it reassuringly.

A tinge of concern creeps through him when he looks closer into her eyes and sees it swirl with a haunted expression, like she's being reminded of something else.

"It's just research, babe. It's fine," he reassures again, raising his eyebrow in silent question and giving her the chance to talk to him. If she wanted to.

But Leslie shakes off whatever's bothering her and takes a deep breath, giving his hand a final squeeze before wrapping it around her cup of coffee again.

"You'll tell me, though, right? If things start getting crazy?"

Derek hesitates only because he finds himself torn between wanting to keep her safe and wanting to be able to share everything with her.

"Hey—" she interjects, watching him knowingly. "Don't start with that. Promise you'll tell me," she urges, eyes sharp as she studies his face.

"Okay, promise," he murmurs, knowing that he would probably die first before he let anything happen to her, anyway.

They're still watching each other silently when Leslie's phone buzzes from where it's tucked between her butt and the seat of the chair. She reaches for it with one hand and swipes her thumb over the text still flashing on her screen.

Her eyes skim over her phone before she releases an amused breath.

"What?" he asks, leaning back against his seat and propping his elbows up against the arms of his chair.

"Your sister _demands_ that we save her from boredom and bring her dinner."

Derek rolls his eyes and doesn't bother asking what food she wants because, "she doesn't get a choice, pizza's right there."

Leslie downs the last of her coffee, leaves the cup on the table between them and stands up, her hair falling around her face endearingly. "No arguments about me finally seeing your place?" she questions over her shoulder as she leads the way to the entrance.

Derek reaches around her and pulls the door open just in time for her to pass him and flash him a questioning glance.

"Nope," he simply answers, lips twitching at the corners as he suppresses an amused smile.


	7. Chapter 7

_Leslie shoulders her bag and jogs up the porch steps. She reaches straight for the doorknob and twists it, unsurprised when it turns easily in her grasp. There just isn't much point in locking doors when you live with a pack of werewolves._

 _The house is quieter than usual as she walks through the hallway and heads straight for Owen's office. She can hear soft music playing which usually means her brother is working on another contract._

 _She passes the living room and notices details at a glance. Someone's sneakers left haphazardly by the couch, a jacket strewn over a chair and headphones on the coffee table. She doesn't have to announce her presence as she nears Owen's door because she knows he would've heard her as soon as she reached the driveway._

 _Her brother is sitting at his desk by the window (because, drawing needs to be done with natural light), as she strolls right into his office and drops down on the couch on the far side of the room._

 _Owen turns in his seat. "Hey."_

 _"_ _Hey, yourself," she greets with a small smile._

 _"_ _How was school?"_

 _Leslie shrugs noncommittally. "Same old. How's the hunting going?"_

 _Owen rolls his eyes. "Slow."_

 _Just as she's about to ask how much progress they've made, there's a swift knock against the doorjamb before her brother's second-in-command pokes his head in._

 _"_ _We've got a lead. Apparently it's heading to the strip tonight, probably looking to feed. Hey Les'," Zachary lifts his chin at her in greeting and winks._

 _Leslie raises an arm in a silent wave._

 _"_ _Okay, I'll go see what I can find. You're still meeting with that witch tonight, right?" Owen asks, propping an arm up against the back of his desk chair._

 _Zachary nods, punching a fist into his hand as he shifts to stand in the doorway. "I have to, we already flaked on her twice."_

 _"_ _Wait, you can't go by yourself, what's Riley doing?" Leslie interrupts, sitting forward and watching the two of them with a look of concern, especially her brother._

 _She sees Zach wince. "Riley's checking out another lead," he informs with a shake of his head._

 _"_ _It's fine, sis', it's just going to be a recon thing tonight, nothing dangerous," Owen reassures her._

 _Leslie raises an eyebrow at him and doesn't reply._

-x-

He and Leslie climb the stairs to his apartment slowly. She's carrying two boxes of pizzas propped against her front, her hands hooked over the edges of the solid cardboard. Derek trails her quietly, eyes focussed on the bit of bare skin visible between her shoulder blades above her tank top. It's something to be said about their fledgling relationship as both of them seem to take their time. It feels like they both want to prolong their last few moments of being alone together before having dinner with his sister.

As they climb the final flight leading to his apartment door, Derek pauses on the second last step, reaching up and tugging softly on Leslie's hip. She turns to him with a questioning look on her face, pausing on the top step so that their faces are level with each other.

He knows Cora's listening for them, can probably hear them with her wolf-ears loud and clear, so Derek raises a finger to his lips motioning for quiet. Leslie raises an eyebrow at him, and maybe it's the dimness of the hallway or the flickering lights in the stairwell, but Derek suddenly has the urge to kiss her.

He hadn't done so upon his first hello, and they hadn't been sitting next to each other at the coffee shop. They hadn't held hands to the pizza place and he hadn't noticed the deprivation…but now – all of a sudden – it all comes rushing to the forefront of his mind. He could probably blame it on being distracted by what was going on in Beacon Hills but he reminds himself that he doesn't want to be _that_ guy. Especially for _her._

So, even as he hears Cora get up from her bed and start moving around her bedroom; even as he listens to her footfalls, light against the apartment floor…Derek takes the time to trail a finger down the side of Leslie's face. Her eyes drift shut at the contact, face tilting towards his hand, savouring his touch. Her expression lights up with a small, pleased smile as her eyelids slide open to reveal warm, hazel eyes.

Derek hasn't yet called her anything else but her given name, but he remembers a growing amount of moments when he's almost called her something else. Like during brunch with his sister – he can still clearly recall that sentence – _brunch with his sister and his g…Leslie._

He wonders if this is what an epiphany feels like. A moment when everything slows to a crawl, when every blink takes a minute and every breath is a lifetime. His eyes study her face avidly. Her cute upturned nose and the few light freckles over her cheeks. Her long lashes fan over her skin as she blinks at him enquiringly, and Derek hopes that she can see the feeling in his gaze. Can see in his eyes everything he still hasn't found the courage to say. Everything that hasn't had the right time.

Derek brushes the hair away from her eyes, cradles her face with one large hand and plants a tender kiss against her lips. The awe that comes with being able to kiss her whenever he wants isn't new. He feels her breath against his mouth as she gasps slightly. A moment passes where she is motionless as he kisses her, and then the moment breaks as Leslie tilts her head and returns his kiss.

The exchange is gentle and soul-stirring, conveying emotions and other things that neither of them feel like they're ready for, but Derek knows that they both feel it. He knows it by the sound of her crashing heartbeat and his own, he knows it by the feel of her warm skin against his palm, and he knows it by the sweetness in her scent. It's full and warm and all-encompassing, and it calls to him like a siren in the sea. It calls to him with open arms ready to welcome him home.

As Derek pulls back from the kiss, Leslie blinks up at him with a dazed, contented look on her face, and he finds that the last thing he wants to do right now is have dinner with his sister.

The moment between them passes as Leslie flashes him some teeth with her next smile, shakes herself off and pecks a quick kiss on his cheek just as Cora throws open their apartment door.

"Finally!" his sister exclaims, making grabby hands at the pizza.

Leslie grins, gives the necklace around his neck a gentle tug before skipping forward and letting Cora take the boxes out of her hands. Derek smiles thoughtfully as he climbs the rest of the stairs and trails his sister and his g… _Leslie_ into the apartment.

Cora clears the coffee table of the books scattered all over it so she can put the pizza boxes down. Derek heads to the fridge and grabs some sodas as he keeps one eye on Leslie. He watches her as she studies the apartment, eyes wandering over the books strewn all over the breakfast bar and skimming over the darkened doorway leading into his room. Cora sidles up next to him and opens a cabinet to get some plates. She nudges him when she notices him watching Leslie.

"You're such a creeper, you know that?" Cora teases with a shake of her head.

Derek rolls his eyes at her and stops watching Leslie, concentrating instead on juggling the three cans of soda in one of his hands and grabbing a pack of Doritos with the other.

"So, movie? Leslie, please say you don't have work tonight," Cora adds, glancing up at the other girl as Leslie rounds the sofa and takes a seat.

"Nope, I'm off tonight," she answers, tucking a foot under her opposite leg and leaning against the back of the couch. Derek likes that she already seems so at home after spending less than ten minutes at his place.

"Awesome! Someone who can sway the votes." Cora grabs the TV remote from the side of the TV and starts flipping through Netflix. She wins the movie vote, as predicted, after she tells Leslie that _brothers' girlfriends are supposed to suck up to their sisters._ When Leslie relents, Derek can tell that she's pretending that she can't see the blush on Derek's cheeks – which just happened to materialise after Cora had called her his girlfriend. She grabs a slice of pizza as the movie starts and leans back against Derek's side. He drops his arm around her and they sit comfortably as Cora settles into the armchair on the far side of the coffee table tucking a throw around her legs.

They must have been more tired than they realised because the next thing he knows, he's easing into wakefulness, slouched low on one end of the couch with Leslie's head pillowed on his thigh. The TV's back to the Netflix menu and Derek can just crane his neck enough to glimpse Cora's closed bedroom door.

 _Didn't even wake us,_ he thinks to himself, brow wrinkling into an irritated frown. Slowly, he eases his leg out from under Leslie's head, quickly grabs one of the throw pillows on the floor and shoves it where his thigh had been. He's not surprised when she doesn't stir, knowing from experience that she slept fairly deeply most times because, _my body clock is ruined as fuck._ He pauses for a moment, propped up on his haunches and brushes the hair out of her face before rising to his feet and looking around the living room for the remote. He switches the TV off and closes the now empty pizza boxes. As he's gathering the empty cans of soda to put in the trash he hears his phone buzz.

Derek perks his ears, looking around for his phone. He finds it on the breakfast bar where he'd left it earlier and heads towards the kitchen, leaving Leslie slumbering on the couch. When he reaches his phone there are several messages from Stiles. It's 3AM New York time and when he does the math, he's not surprised that Stiles is still up and running on all cylinders. Derek places the soda cans on the bar and swipes a finger across his lock screen.

 **the Cylph is not an object.**

 **I repeat, the Cylph is NOT AN OBJECT**

Derek frowns down at his phone and quickly types back a reply. _**Explain.**_

He might as well have saved the effort because there's a certain three dots flashing on the screen that tells him that Stiles is already typing.

 **Scott's been talking to the alpha.**

 **Got it out of him somehow.**

Derek stands with his phone in his hand and when it looks like there's no other message coming, he responds.

 _ **What is it then? And what makes them think it's in BH?**_

Sometimes he thinks that Stiles purposely feeds him the information slowly just so he can make sure Derek is paying attention or something. Same way teachers make sure their students are paying attention—ask them questions or get them to ask questions.

 **They think it sticks close to the ley lines, telluric currents, whatever**

 **ie, Nemeton**

 **they also don't actually know what its human form looks like**

 **the alpha still thinks he can scent it out but Scott's holding firm on the no-traipsing-around-town-yet thing**

Derek pads around the apartment on silent, socked feet. He checks that Leslie's still sleeping as he passes the couch on the way to the pile of books Cora had taken off the coffee table. Derek grabs the book he'd tagged and goes back to the breakfast bar, letting it fall open to the page he'd marked.

 _"_ _The Cylphius Halorium or Cylph can serve as a powerful tool for an alpha. Once much coveted by the lycan, when used in the vicinity of telluric currents, can create an immense charge of power within he who holds it. Unbridled or unacceptable use may be the genesis of sacrific—"_

He types a reply.

 _ **Did they happen to tell Scott what they need the Cylph for?**_

Stiles' messages make his phone buzz continuously in his hand.

 **Scott tried but couldn't get it out of him. My guess is something bad. Duh.**

 **We'r still stalling. Parrish – Dad's new deputy – found the Nemeton. Did not come across any cylph-like objects/people**

 **Deaton suggests that the cylph might be AWARE and is prob laying low.**

 **He wants me to ask u if u could go visit a friend of his – lives in the area.**

Derek is a little surprised that Deaton seemed to be with Stiles as the kid was texting him, but the feeling is small and fleeting.

 _ **text me the address.**_

When the conversation with Stiles finally dies down, it's 3:30 in the morning and all Derek wants to do is go to bed. He reads over the address again before letting Stiles know that he'll be in touch with them again tomorrow.

Derek ambles back towards the living room, stifling a yawn as he stretches his arms up over his head. He rounds the couch easily and doesn't stop to think about his actions, simply leaning down, slipping his arms under Leslie's sleeping form and picking her up. He holds her against his chest in a bridal carry, heads to his room and gently lays her on his bed. He's glad that she hadn't ever thought to change out of her tank top and sweatpants; likes that she never tried to change the way she was even when things had started to change between them. This outfit is what she goes to get coffee in, and it still is.

He grabs some soft pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt from the dresser and pads to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change his clothes. When he gets back to his room he finds Leslie curled up in his bed, the covers tucked tight under her chin. It's like she'd moved without fully waking, her breaths slow and even, heartbeat steady and calm. Derek huffs a light laugh, dumps his clothes on a chair next to the dresser and slips into the bed beside her. They haven't spent too much time sleeping in the same bed together so he keeps his hands to himself, content to just lie beside her and let the beat of her heart lull him to sleep.

When he wakes up in the morning he's surprised to find Leslie gone and a hastily scribbled note lying on the pillow beside his head. Derek grabs it, wondering how she was able to wake up, get out of bed and leave his apartment without his wolf hearing/sensing/smelling any of it.

 _Had to hustle. Text me! X_

Derek sits up and shoves his hand through his bed mussed hair. He's grumpy and irritated because, well, that wasn't exactly the way he'd envisioned waking up today.

He gets up from his bed and pads towards the kitchen. A glance tells him that it's only 7AM. As he pauses by the breakfast bar he notices the book from yesterday. It's lying where he'd left it, but instead of gaping open to the page that he'd flagged, the book is now lying closed.


	8. Chapter 8

_When Zach finds her, she's lying huddled beside her brother's body, drifting in and out of consciousness._

 _Leslie is drenched to the bone and from the insistent pounding in her skull, she thinks she's probably sporting a nasty concussion and maybe a really bad cut on the back of her head. It didn't matter, though. Whatever was wrong with her didn't compare to Owen being dead. She almost starts crying again but she doesn't have any tears left to shed. Her eyes still burn, but no moisture leaves them. It's just a terrible, unbearable pain that swells in her chest like a living thing._

 _When the running footsteps reach her ears, she's blinking dazedly at the tip of Owen's forefinger, wondering if she's imagining the blue tinge to its tip. His palm is covered in dried blood and she finds that she can't bear to look at anything else._

 _Zachary drops down in front of her and it's like everything moves in slow motion. He's saying something, mouth moving, eyes wide and horrified as he hovers a hand over her but doesn't touch._

 _Leslie stares but doesn't really see._

 _She stays silent as Zach touches the back of her head and winces. When he pulls his hand away his fingertips are smeared with blood. He says something else that she doesn't catch and then, ever so slowly, he's lifting her into his arms. She doesn't try to keep Owen in her line of sight._

 _Zachary deposits her near the mouth of the side street, pulls out his phone and starts making calls. She assumes he's gathering the pack and the thought makes her sad. They weren't a large pack. It had been her, Zachary, Riley, Lisa and Owen. What happens now? The only thing that really made her pack was the fact that her brother was the alpha._

 _Now, what?!_

 _She doesn't know how much time passes before Riley and Lisa appear at the end of the street, eyes wide and shocked. Their gazes are focussed on something in the distance and she knows they're staring at Owen. Zachary says something to them and they both nod before Lisa heads back out to the main street and Riley moves towards the back of the small street._

 _Zachary crouches down beside her again and drops a hand on her shoulder, gaze worried. The shock must be wearing off a little because she starts registering sound as he says something to her._

 _"…_ _et you to a hospital."_

 _Leslie blinks up at him but doesn't say anything._

 _"_ _Hey," Zach murmurs, meeting her gaze. "Whatever happened, this wasn't your fault."_

 _Leslie just stares at him and doesn't reply._

 _-x-_

Derek looks up at the building that Deaton's address had led him to. It's old and crumbling and doesn't look very habitable but he knows enough to not let it deter him. As he starts up the stairs to the front door of the building, an old woman exits with an armful of flowers and a wicker basket hooked on her arm. She gives him a perfunctory glance as they pass each other and Derek pins her as _Other_ just as her scent reaches him and confirms his guess. The exchange only lasts for a second but if he didn't have it up before, then he certainly had his guard up now.

The door to the building opens just as he raises his fist to knock and he's greeted by a woman with green hair and yellow eyes. _Dryad_ , his mind supplies, as the woman steps back and gestures him in with a sweep of her arm.

Derek enters the building and isn't surprised when he finds that the interior is as modern as they come. Big cities filled with _Other_ also meant lots of glamour and unfortunately, he'd learned to be wary of that the hard way.

The dryad wisps by him and motions for him to follow. Her cream dress sways around her thighs as she floats ahead of him, light on the balls of her feet. She leads him into a sitting room with modern Victorian décor and he pauses by an armchair as she motions for him to wait, before disappearing back out the way they'd come.

Derek shoves his hands into his pockets and tries not to feel claustrophobic as he studies the dark coloured walls and large Victorian furniture making the place feel cramped. The room is perfectly pristine with no clutter in sight and he finds that there's not much to go by in terms of evidence of any sort, or any kind of clue to what (or who) he was waiting to talk to.

His eyes are wandering over the black and red walls ornately decorated with numerous swirls when he hears light footsteps approach. There's no scent that accompanies the sound and Derek turns to see a woman with long, black hair hanging down past her waist and unsettling grey eyes. She's wearing frayed jeans and a white t-shirt topped with an open, red, floor length kimono. Her hands are clasped lightly in front of her and the corners of her lips twitch as she studies him with knowing eyes.

"You must be Derek Hale," she says, voice smooth and hypnotic. "Alan told me you were coming."

Derek nods and pulls his hands out of his pockets. He knows better than to offer his hand to a druid powerful enough to mask her scent. He also knows enough not be offended by it. Living in a city filled with _Other_ meant that sometimes you needed to practice more caution than usual. She most likely masked herself with everyone.

"I'm Magritte. Shall we talk in the study?"

"Sure," Derek answers, following the druid as she leads him back out into the hallway and further into the building. They turn into another – larger – room with thick green carpet, large mahogany pieces of furniture and floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with books.

Magritte gestures to one of two plush chairs and takes the other one.

"What can I do for you today?"

Derek takes a deep breath, trying to decide on the best place to start. "Uh, I'm not sure how much Deaton's told you, but I'm here to ask what you know about something called a Cylph?" He watches Magritte's face and isn't disappointed when he notices her calm expression flicker into one of interest and curiosity.

"I haven't heard that word in a very long time, Mr Hale. Who is it that you've heard speak of this?"

"My friends in Beacon Hills are saying there's an alpha looking for it. He's convinced that it's hiding in town somewhere. They've managed to stall him and his pack for now, but we haven't found as much information as we'd like about it."

Magritte takes a deep breath and leans forward, beckoning him to do the same. "They're quite rare. To my knowledge, the last known existence of a Cylph was fifty years before I was born and I'm nine hundred years' old. Werewolves, specifically, harbour a special interest in Cylphs, although the knowledge of it has mostly faded away from one generation to the next."

Derek mulls this information over, wondering if his mother had known about things like these. "What are they?"

Magritte looks at him thoughtfully. "Do your friends know what form it has taken? The Cylph itself," —she holds a hand up in front of her, palm up with fingers curled in like she's holding an invisible ball— "is just an essence. Without a host it is pretty much useless. Sometimes, a host can carry it inside them all their lives without it ever awakening. Sometimes, if a host is aware of it, it can be transferred upon the host's death—but that hardly ever happens. This is the reason why there hasn't been a Cylph in so long. It can manifest inside anyone and remain dormant until something wakes it up…or it never awakens at all."

"How do you we find out who the host is?"

The druid shakes her head at him. "Ask a better question," she chastises, before answering him anyway. "It is unknown how hosts are determined. Sometimes it's humans that have it in their blood, sometimes it's _Other_ , and sometimes it materialises out of thin air. It's all about the balance of energy."

Derek studies Magritte's unsettling grey eyes then glances down at her hand, now resting lightly on her lap. "Why do werewolves want it so much?"

Magritte gives him a nod of approval. "Alphas are able to use their claws to tap into the Cylph's energy giving them more power than they can imagine. I heard once of an alpha that had access to a Cylph and used it to keep a whole forest from burning to the ground. You should be careful though, if the host or essence is threatened at all, it has the ability to protect itself."

"Do you know of a way to track it somehow? I mean, we're not—Scott, he's my friend in Beacon Hills—he's an alpha, but he's not looking for it to use it. He just wants to keep it safe, that's all."

Magritte smiles at him. "Alan did mention the true alpha." She looks around at the books on the shelves, seeming to search for something. She must find what she's looking for because Derek watches as she rises from her seat, walks across the room and takes a book from the shelf. She holds it open in her palm as she rifles through some loose papers tucked between the pages. "I know a witch who specialises in Discovery. She might be able to help you. Even if it's not in Beacon Hills, she'll be able to find it."

Derek stands and takes the piece of paper the druid is holding out for him. There's an address scribbled on it.

"Be careful, Derek. It's hard for Death to shy away from this one. Tell your friends as well," Magritte warns sagely.

Derek nods and murmurs a thank you. Magritte leads him back out the way he came, but just before he reaches the front door she says something else, like it had been a last minute thought.

"She's bright, isn't she—your sunshine?"

Derek pauses by the door and looks back in surprise because, h _ow…?_ He knows for a fact that he's never told anyone about that time he'd compared Leslie's smile to sunshine all those months ago – in his head.

"It was _you_ that gave that back to her—the brightness," she continues. "She won't ever say it, but you should know that it was all darkness before you. You saved her."

"I…" he can't decide if he should be defensive about her prying into his life. Then he reminds himself that it's probably not the best idea to get on the bad side of a nine-hundred-year old druid trying to help. So he accepts what she says instead. "I think she saved me too."

"Take care, Derek. You're welcome here any time," she adds with a smile as she clasps her hands loosely in front of her, watching him leave.

"Thank you," Derek says again before heading out the door.

-x-

Find me on Tumblr! sahbelwrites . tumblr . com


	9. Chapter 9

_"_ _I can't stay."_

 _She and Zach are standing in front of the pack house. The one that they'd inherited from the alpha that bit Owen and Zach. The one they'd lived in for the better part of eight months. Growing together and living together and becoming a pack – together. It helped that Owen had known Zach from before they were bitten, were already comfortable with each other from their days at college. It helped that she was able to understand what it was like to be compelled by an alpha. To understand that Zach didn't_ _ **mean**_ _what he did that first night. She's witnessed Owen put wolves in their place several times with a mere flash of his eyes in the past eight months, and he wasn't even their alpha then. So, Leslie knows that an alpha's will is something else. Something almost tangible in its strength._

 _"_ _We weren't a pack for very long but we loved him too. You weren't the only one, Leslie," Zach says, still trying to convince her to stay._

 _"_ _I'm not a werewolf, Zach. The only thing that made me pack was your alpha and that's why I stayed – because he was my brother. I don't know any of you and it doesn't feel right joining another pack without him. It feels right to go," she enunciates the last word slowly, willing him to understand._

 _Eight months may have been enough for these wolves to form a bond with her, but they forget that she's still human through and through. She doesn't feel things the same way they do._

 _"_ _Owen was talking to the pack in Utah before he…" Zach's eyes flick away momentarily before he continues. "Gannon—the alpha—he's alright..."_

 _She doesn't know how to explain to him that the only thing she can see in her head is the memory of her brother lying in the street and the sight of his blood covered hand._

 _"_ _I can't stay," she says out loud, firm in her resolve._

 _Zach sighs with resignation, gaze far away and searching, like there's an answer hidden in the parked car across the street. "Where will you go?" he asks dejectedly._

 _Leslie shakes her head and shrugs. "Don't know yet. I guess I'll know when I get there."_

 _Zach abruptly bursts forward, pulling her into an awkward hug like he wasn't really planning on hugging her but had decided to at the last minute. Leslie hugs him back just as he mumbles into the side of her head._

 _"_ _You take care of yourself, okay? You need anything, you call."_

 _Leslie replies by giving Zach one last squeeze before letting go._

 _-x-_

Derek's typing up a text to Leslie as he heads down the street to where he parked the Camaro when a surprised voice calls his name. He looks up in the direction of the voice and sees the guy from the coffee shop. Zach. The guy waves at him before looking right and left and jogging across to his side of the street. Zach leaves behind another guy – bigger than Derek, with dark skin and wearing a motorcycle jacket.

"What are the odds, huh?" Zach says by way of greeting, holding out his hand towards Derek.

Derek takes the offered hand, shaking it as he pockets his phone with the other.

"Hey," he greets, unable to keep the mild surprise from his voice. "Odds are pretty good, I guess," he answers with bemusement.

"Oh, dude, I didn't realise you were—" Zach stares at him with wide eyes and waves a hand over him vaguely. Derek raises an eyebrow at him as he continues naively. "Jeez, I really suck at this scenting thing—and we spent all that time together at the coffee shop—man, I suck!" he exclaims with emphasis on the last word.

"Takes some practice," Derek agrees with amusement. "Are you staying around here?" he questions, indicating the area with his eyes.

"Oh, nah, business – again. That's my partner Roland," Zach adds, lifting his chin towards the guy he'd left across the street and raising his hand in a wave. Roland doesn't react aside from raising an eyebrow at them before looking away. "We're just doing a little networking; you know how it is."

Derek nods even though he doesn't.

"Hey, do _you_ live around here?"

"Nah, I was just visiting a friend," Derek hedges, shrugging noncommittally. A car drives by them just as Roland whistles at Zach from the other side of the street, looking irritated.

Zach bursts into movement, waving at Roland in a placating manner. "I better get going before he loses his shit. Good seeing you, man. Random, but good. Maybe I'll see you at that coffee shop again while I'm in town."

"Maybe," Derek answers. This time he's the one who offers out his hand for the brief handshake before they part ways.

The address Magritte gives him leads him to the other side of town. He finds the small store easily and he's not surprised when he sees that the place specialises in all things magical. A bell attached to the back of the door chimes lightly as he enters the shop. His wolf-nose reacts immediately to the onslaught of strong incense as he inhales and Derek chokes on a cough, eyes watering a little. The counter to his right is empty and the place is dimly lit and filled with a tonne of things, of which he can probably only name half of. He lets his eyes wander as he strolls slowly through two shelves of books and a wall lined with jars filled with liquids and other…things.

Just as he reaches a bend by the back of the store, there's a soft sound to his right.

"Mr Hale?"

Derek turns towards the voice. A woman with long blonde dread locks and blue eyes stands in a doorway he hadn't noticed. She's holding black curtains aside with one hand and is watching him with a raised eyebrow. Her black tank top is a contrast to her skirt which is a myriad of colour and patterns and hangs loosely down to her ankles.

"I'm Elspeth," she continues, flashing him a friendly smile. "Magritte called ahead and mentioned that you were on your way. Everything's already set up in the back, if you'd like to come through?" She steps back with a hand still holding the curtain aside and looks at him expectantly.

Derek nods and follows her lead.

"I understand that you're seeking something quite rare," the witch says to him over her shoulder as she leads him through a narrow passage.

"Yes, it's uh—for a friend of mine, actually. I'm just helping him out," he explains.

They reach the end of the passageway and Derek follows as Elspeth ducks through its opening, smaller than the one she had invited him through. They end up in a small room, numerous candles illuminating the space and a small round table sitting in the middle of it. On the centre of the table is a large, clear piece of crystal, all jagged edges and rough lines. Derek thinks he sees a spark of white emanating from deep inside of it but he can't tell if it's his mind playing tricks on him or if the spark is actually there.

"Have a seat," Elspeth murmurs, gesturing towards the empty chair on his side of the table as she slips into the chair on the other side of it.

Derek watches her reach up to one of the shelves beside the table and bring down a small jar. There's a small, perfectly green leaf lying inside it, and Derek's brows twitch a little when he notices that the jar is sealed completely shut.

"This is from a forest which was once protected by an alpha who had access to a Cylph," she explains, nodding a little as she sees the comprehension dawn on his face.

"T-that's…" He doesn't know what to say because there isn't anything to say, really. The leaf is perfectly healthy inside a jar lacking any sort of oxygen, sitting inside a room with no windows and has probably been that green for over nine hundred years.

"A part of it was left inside this one leaf. It can't be used, I've witnessed many who have tried to pull the energy out of it, but we've found that aside from keeping it in perfect health, the essence of the Cylph is otherwise dormant and will remain so for…" Elspeth's voice trails off with a helpless shrug. She unscrews the jar and tips it over in her hand, letting the leaf flutter into her open palm. Elspeth gently lays the leaf atop one of the crystal's blunt edges in its centre.

"Okay, let's hope this works. Shall we?" Elspeth invites, holding both hands out towards him, her palms open and welcoming.

Derek straightens in his seat and slips his hands into hers.

He doesn't know what to expect but when nothing happens right away, Derek raises an eyebrow, gaze wide and concentrated on Elspeth's calm face. The witch doesn't say anything, returning his gaze quietly as she releases a long, slow breath through pursed lips.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Soon, Derek begins to calm with the continuous rhythm of her breaths. The blue in her eyes seems to get wider and deeper and Derek finds himself losing focus of his surroundings as he is engulfed into a trance-like state.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

A black dot materialises in the centre of the blue and grows rapidly as his consciousness approaches it. It grows bigger and bigger until it explodes into space and Derek is surrounded by stars and the universe. He moves forward, through the stars and darkness this time, gaining momentum and moving faster and faster. Another dot materialises in the universe, growing bigger and bigger until it becomes the earth, and then he's moving rapidly through the clouds and sky, the ocean speeding past below him until he notices a rectangle in the distance. It comes at him faster and faster until Derek is forced to shut his eyes with the anticipation of impact.

It doesn't come. Instead, a piercing silence surrounds him, and then…

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Derek opens his eyes slowly. He isn't aware that he's turned his head until he has to cautiously peek at whatever is floating in front of him.

A map larger and taller than himself hovers in front of him and he is once again surrounded by blue.

Derek blinks and shifts his eyes rapidly, trying to get his bearings. There are street names and lines and cities and he can't find anything he recognises. He's worried the map will disappear before he has the chance to see anything but then there's a small glimmer to his left that catches his eye.

The leaf with the essence of the Cylph blinks into existence, floating in thin air in front of the giant map. Derek watches it as it moves across the map's perfect lines, spinning like it's caught in a small whirlwind. He watches it fly over Australia, England, Canada…

It swirls its way over Washington, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, California and hovers to a stop over…New York.

 _What?_

The map disintegrates into dust and regenerates in a second into a map of New York, then Derek's suddenly recognising the street of the coffee shop. _The_ coffee shop. He's willing the map to disintegrate and regenerate again but before he can even breathe, the whole thing blinks out of sight and Derek's back in the dark room with Elspeth looking across at him, big blue eyes wide and knowing.

She slowly pulls her hands away as Derek tries to process things as quickly as possible because, "It's not in Beacon Hills."

He shoves his way out of the shop door without ceremony, already putting his phone to his ear as he heads across the street to his car.

"Derek? I was just about to call—"

"—Scott, the Cylph is here. I just came from seeing Deaton's friend and—"

"Dude, Derek, I know! Listen, Gannon—the alpha—he found out the same thing, I don't know how, but he's got a witch doing stuff for him. You gotta find the thing before he does. I don't know what else to do aside from fly there and by then it'll be too late."

Derek clenches his car keys in his fist before replying tersely. "I'll call you back."


	10. Chapter 10

He's nowhere near the coffee shop when the lunch rush hits but Derek finds a parking space near his apartment building and decides to ditch his car in favour of walking the rest of the way. The sidewalks are filled with people and the street might as well be a car park, considering how many taxis and cars were sitting bumper to bumper.

He can just make out the coffee shop windows and entrance when he spots Leslie pulling the door open and striding inside dressed in some black tights and a jacket. Her hair is sleep-mussed as usual and Derek feels himself breathe a little easier at the sight of her. He's still too far away to call her name and as a bunch of Japanese tourists spill out of a bus parked to his left, another man approaches the entrance and Derek frowns as he recognises Zach.

Derek finally clears the cluster of tourists and shoves his way through the coffee shop door just in time to see Leslie staring warily at Zach. Her face has lost all of its colour and it's like she's looking at a ghost.

Derek senses no other wolves in the coffee shop aside from Zach who is emanating all kinds of tension and anxiety. And he wishes that he knew how to scent the Cylph out somehow, because he's just come to realise that either this guy is looking for the same thing he's looking for, or he might be _It_ and has no idea.

They still haven't said anything to each other by the time he steps protectively into Leslie's personal space. Leslie flinches before she realises that it's him and takes a half-step back into him so that her shoulder blades are touching his chest.

"This guy bothering you, Les'?" He concentrates on keeping his voice calm and easy, even as he keeps his senses focussed on Zach's scent, makes sure that he's not about to attack or anything. Zach startles when he hears Leslie's name leave Derek's lips and his eyes dart between the two of them with surprise, mouth parting on a gasp.

"W-wait, y-you…you two…" Zach motions between the two of them, eyes going back to Derek, then Leslie, then back to Derek again. Zach doesn't seem to know what to do and Derek just wants to know why Leslie seems so shaken up.

Another second passes by before Leslie seems to get a hold of herself as she moves to Derek's side, takes his hand, and asks the question that Zach had been choking on. "You two know each other?"

Her eyes are narrowed and angry? as she glances between the two of them and Derek can't help saying the same exact words but as a statement, because aside from the paleness of Leslie's face, he'd also seen the recognition in her eyes.

" _You two_ know each other."

Zach gestures vaguely with a wave of his hand before stuttering out an answer. "I-I'm a friend—was, was a friend of her brother's."

Leslie looks at him expectantly and Derek acquiesces without protest. "I just met him here the other day."

Derek looks at Zach again, and the more he spends time with the guy, the more he's convinced that Zach is the one harbouring the Cylph. The spell Elspeth had done had pointed him to the coffee shop and if the essence of the Cylph was dormant he wouldn't be able to smell anything else but Zach's wolf scent anyway. He guesses that the guy hasn't had the bite for very long and whoever's looking for him back in Beacon Hills must think he's there for a reason, right?

Derek's mind flashes back to the conversation they'd had at the coffee shop the other day and Zach's amused words. _"Not a big fan of the city, though, send me to a beach any day, I say."_

"Hey," Derek says, looking at Zach. "Where'd you say you were from again?"

Zach tears his gaze away from Leslie to answer Derek. "California, man. San Diego."

Derek swallows, tightens his grip around Leslie's hand and silently wills her to listen to what he's about to say. Leslie's looking at him questioningly but Derek knows that she isn't getting the message about Zach, so he squeezes her hand again.

"Listen, remember what I said yesterday about helping my friend out? Um, turns out that uh, I found it and I need you to go tell Cora that it's in the book I tagged, okay?"

Leslie's shaking her head at him but he's already walking her towards the entrance, leaving Zach by the counter. All he can think of at that moment is getting Leslie out and away from the coffee shop because even if Zach isn't it, then someone else in the immediate vicinity _is_.

"N-no, Derek, Derek I have to tell you something, wait—"

Derek shakes his head. "Leslie, not now. I know he's your brother's friend but this is important, okay? Just let me talk to him and I'll meet you at my apartment."

"N-no, Der—"

"Les'. Go," he says again, and there must be enough pleading in his eyes because she lets the door close behind her, her eyes wide behind the glass.

-x-

 _When she sees him for the first time, there is no fear. His eyes are blue, they're not gold like Owen's first were, but there's something about him that makes her feel safe. Even as he flashes his fangs and roars and the mugger pisses his pants with fear, Leslie knows better._

 _She knows that this wolf won't hurt her._

 _The next time she sees him, she doesn't even hesitate because it's like she's known him all her life, even though he ran as soon as he made sure she was safe that night. He's standing by the window with his coffee in hand and he doesn't even realise she's there until she speaks._

 _"_ _You."_

 _He side-eye's her with a raise of his eyebrow and doesn't flinch. "Me."_

 _"_ _The wolf man," she elaborates, pointing a lazy finger at him._

 _"_ _Jesus, any louder?" He chokes out, because he'd been sipping on his coffee._

 _Leslie watches him with amusement. He's wearing dark jeans and a leather jacket and his black hair glistens in the sunlight. His eyes are a peculiar mix of hazel and amber and when the sun hits them just right they glow a perfect shade of green._

 _"_ _Are you following me?" she teases, wanting to push his buttons just because. She gets more than she wanted when he chokes on his coffee again, glares at her, then straightens to his full height so that all she can see is the material of the leather jacket against his chest._

 _"_ _I live around the block," he snaps, glaring at her._

 _Leslie inhales the faint whiff of pine and wood and feels her chest loosen just a little before she shoots him a small smirk. "Relax, grumpy. I was only playing." She reaches across him to grab a napkin from the dispenser by the window before sauntering towards the door._

 _"_ _I live around the block too, so I guess I'll see you around again," she throws over her shoulder. "Try smiling next time," she adds, before breezing out of the entrance with her coffee in hand and a small smile lighting up her face._

 _The first in a very long time._

 _-x-_

"Listen, I don't know what you think I am, but I'm just here on some pack business," Zach says.

Derek frowns at him, confused, because his heartbeat is steady and his voice rings true. He's not lying.

"You're really not looking for the Cylph?"

Zach shrugs and shakes his head. "No, man. Our pack's relocating, Roland and I are scouting for apartments."

Derek sits back in his seat as Zach sits back in his own and sips his coffee. Before he can think better of it, he brings his phone out of his pocket and dials Scott.

Scott picks up on the first ring.

"What's the name of the alpha?"

 _"_ _What?"_

Derek continues to stare at Zach, knowing full well that he can hear every single word. "The name of the alpha looking for the Cylph. What's his name?"

 _"_ _It's Gannon McLeod. San Diego pack. Listen, Derek, I also just found out that it was in an alpha—the Cylph. The host was an alpha."_

Zach blanches, coffee cup trembling in his hand as he continues to listen in.

"I'll call you back," Derek replies before ending the call. He leans forward in his seat, props his elbows against his knees and looks at Zach.

" _Now_ what do you know."

Zach's breaths have sped up and his coffee cup clatters against the platter as he places it back on the table. "O-Owen, Leslie's brother was the alpha. Ours. S-something happened, something that we never really got to talk about before she left and then—"

 _"_ _Sometimes if a host is aware of it, it can be transferred upon the host's death, but that hardly ever happens."_ Magritte's voice is loud in his ears and Derek doesn't let Zach finish, already shooting out of his seat as he comes to the realisation himself.

He's rushing towards the entrance and shoving the door open, because he's thinking that Zach had been lied to about what he was doing in New York because of his connection to Leslie; Zach's partner, Roland, is mysteriously absent because he definitely has his own orders from the alpha looking for the Cylph; and Cora and Leslie are alone at his apartment and currently _very_ unprotected.

Derek doesn't waste time getting his keys out, shifting into beta mode and barging through the apartment building's front door when he hears screaming coming from the third floor. He leaps over the first flight of stairs and then the next two with ease. His apartment door is thrown wide open and he can see Cora's unconscious form slumped against the kitchen floor. There's an alpha in the middle of his living room clutching the arm of a blonde woman, her eyes filled with black and her mouth moving fast, murmuring a low continuous chant.

 _Witch._

And in front of them, on her knees, eyes filling with tears as they catch sight of him, is Leslie.

"I'm s-sorry," she sobs, holding her arms out and away from her as her skin begins to glow a dark molten red. He can smell her fear and misery. Her heart is pounding a fast, deafening beat as she cries out again, pain signals making the air thick between them. Derek snarls, preparing to rip the alpha off of her but he stops abruptly when he smells the blood. Leslie looks at him with hopelessness and apology in her eyes because she sees the moment he realises that the alpha's claws are buried deep into the back of her neck.

Derek watches Leslie hang her head with resignation and all he wants to do is tell her that everything's going to be okay, but there's a look in her eyes that makes him afraid. Makes him panic and move with urgency as the air around Leslie, the alpha, and the witch begins to ripple with magic.

Leslie blinks at him, pupils blown and unfocussed. "It's me," she confirms on a gasp. She raises her skinny arms higher seeming to reach for him just as the light flares from her skin and engulfs the whole room with fire.

Derek gasps against the sudden explosion, ignores the tingling of his skin and leaps forward into the light, catching one of her hands with his own before everything goes dark.


	11. Chapter 11

_She makes up some random excuse about going to the library for a project an hour before her brother is set to leave for the night. The rest of the pack may be indisposed but not her - they always forget about her – and Leslie wasn't about to let her brother go off on his own without at least_ _ **some**_ _back up._

 _He may think he's invincible – being an alpha and all, which – okay, fine, most times he_ _ **is**_ _– but that still didn't mean he couldn't be killed…_

 _And so this is how Leslie finds herself smack dab in the middle of the strip, at 11 o'clock at night, ignoring catcalls even though she's dressed in a ratty pair of jeans and a hoodie._

 _She knows better than to get too close – Owen's senses far more superior than any human. He'd sniff her out in a heartbeat if she didn't make sure to linger around large crowds of people and brush past a few sickly-scented women, ready and made up for a night out._

 _Leslie hovers at the end of a long line into a club on the far end of the street her brother is on. She'd watched him as he had entered a restaurant on the other side of the street and had been watching the entrance for a good half-hour now. Two girls bypass her as the line to the club moves along and Leslie flattens herself against the wall she'd been standing next to._

 _She watches with disinterest as a tall, dark haired man in a suit exits the restaurant Owen had gone into. There's a shifty expression on his face and Leslie perks up a little, watching the man as he makes his way down the street. The street is packed with Friday night partygoers, there are drunk people stumbling around everywhere and other shady characters to add to the mix. It's easy to blend in on a night like this, especially if you're Other and San Diego is a big, lively city. She continues to track the man in the suit with her eyes until a car backfires to her left and startles her. When she looks back, the man has disappeared into the throng of people and she swears to herself when she looks back at the entrance to the restaurant and realises that she has no idea if Owen is still inside._

 _Leslie pushes off the brick wall she's leaning against, looks left and right before crossing the street and jogs to the restaurant her brother had gone into. It's a small Chinese place with red pillars and dragon carvings. The front is decorated by a giant window and Leslie pauses by a large pillar and peers inside, trying to keep out of sight just in case Owen catches her. Her eyes quickly flit from one table to another and she frowns when she doesn't find Owen at any of them._

 _Fuck._

 _She looks up and down the street, craning her neck and searching for the distinctive head shape of her brother to no avail._

 _Well, double fuck!_

 _Leslie sighs, quickly backtracks her movements, heading back in the direction of the nightclub across the street that she'd been loitering at. Her attention is focussed on scanning the people ahead of her, looking for Owen. She passes through a small group of rowdy girls, bumps into a drunk guy and stumbles into another guy before something grabs her arm and yanks her into a small, dark, side street._

 _"_ _What the fu—" the rest is cut off abruptly as she is slammed hard against a wall, her head smacking against the bricks with a hard thud._

 _Her knees buckle immediately as she tries to blink away the stars in her eyes. She's aware of a forearm locked against her chest and keeping her upright like she weighs nothing more than a rag doll._

 _"_ _You smell like the alpha." The voice is low and definitely_ _ **not**_ _human – or werewolf, for that matter._

 _Leslie squints against the non-light of the side street and tries to see through the heavy pounding coming from the back of her head. It feels like there might be blood. Is there blood?_

 _The thing holding her up shifts its grip to wrap around her throat and raises her up until her toes are swishing across the ground. Leslie flails with panic, hands clawing against the…claws?!...at her throat. She feels the pricks of talons and, yep, there's definitely blood now. The stars are back in her eyes as the oxygen is cut from her brain and she starts to choke with her need to breathe. She wants to swear at this motherfucker but all that's coming out of her mouth are these small, pathetic, gasping noises._

 _"_ _Where is the alpha," the creature demands as a flash of lightning lights up the sky and the wind starts to pick up around them. The haze in her vision makes it hard for her to see what it looks like but Leslie senses its shift, the change in the air, the change in its_ _ **size.**_ _It's large and scaly and, fuck, there might be wings—what the fuck?!_

 _If this thing doesn't kill her then Owen definitely will – and as she's thinking this, there's a low growl from the mouth of the side street just as another clash of thunder and lightning lights up the sky and the sky begins to pour. Leslie drops to the ground in a heap as the grip around her neck disappears and the creature is tackled by her brother in full shift._

 _She sprawls across the ground, heaving and coughing, the pounding in her head so strong that she feels like she still might black out. The rain falling from the sky obscures her vision further and flattens her hair around her face. She hadn't felt it before but now she feels the warm drips of blood coming from the pricks in her neck. The back of her shirt and hoodie are drenched with something sticky._

 _Leslie wheezes against the ground, tries to get her knees under her and push herself up. She turns towards the end of the side street where her brother is losing against a creature three times his size, with fucking wings, some giant motherfucking talons and a face full of teeth. The rain is quick to flood the street gutters and Leslie's jeans are easily soaked through._

 _"_ _Owen," she wheezes, trying and failing – again – to push herself up._

 _The two battling it out are oblivious to her and Leslie begins to panic when the creature swipes its claws at her brother and Owen lets out a pained yip, skipping away with his hands cradling his stomach. He flashes his red alpha-eyes, opens his mouth and roars before charging it and running it straight into the opposite brick wall._

 _The creature crumbles against the bricks as Owen stands over it. Droplets of rain drench his clothes and roll down his face, but he isn't distracted. He flicks his claws out, ready to tear its throat out, but just as he's about to strike, the creature swipes a long arm out at her brother, throwing him across to the other side of the small street._

 _Leslie watches with wide eyes as the creature stalks towards her brother, its eyes keen and predatory. She screams his name, panicked, and the creature stops abruptly, its head whipping in her direction. She gasps as it changes course, eating up the ground between them at a fast gait. She tries to push herself up again but fails miserably as she resists the urge to throw up, the pounding in her head increasing with her attempt to rise to her feet. The creature snarls low and menacing as it reaches for her but just before it can make contact with her skin, another loud roar bursts from where she last saw Owen fall._

 _An orange fire pierces through the creature's torso and Leslie gasps and ducks her head, shielding her face with her arms as the sword of fire blazes through it and tears it in half. Its two halves drop to the ground and disintegrate into a pile of ember and ash quickly washed away by the rain, and Leslie is left trembling against the wall behind her. Her arms are still bristling against the heat of the flames that are now nowhere to be seen._

 _"_ _L-Les'." Owen's voice reaches her ears as if from far away but the tone of it forms a sinking feeling in her gut. He's just a lump in the shadows, the fall of the raindrops outlining his prone form._

 _Leslie weaves dizzily as she forces herself into a sitting position. The warm wetness sticking to her back is uncomfortable as it clings to her skin, but she ignores it as she begins to drag herself towards where her brother is lying._

 _Owen watches her with bleary eyes, back in his human form. An arm is cradled around his butchered stomach and his mouth is covered in blood. He's not healing._

 _There's a panic attack waiting inside her somewhere and it's bursting to come out. She is aware that her breaths are coming way too fast but she can't stop the fear eating at her, the guilt._

 _"_ _N-no, O'. O', I'm sorry, I-I'm…" the sobs that come out of her tear through her throat and not even the pounding in her head can make them stop._

 _Owen shakes his head minutely and holds a hand out to her. He's murmuring something low and whisper-soft that she can't quite understand through the loudness of the rain._

 _"—_ _no time. Y-you gotta take it, sis'. Take it."_

 _"_ _W-what?" she stutters, hard, wet ground digging into her knees through her jeans._

 _Owen's hand trembles as he expels one last burst of effort, darts forward swiftly and grabs her forearm in a bruising grip._

 _"_ _It's yours now, okay?" Owen looks at her with imploring eyes, desperation in his gaze. "Y-you can't tell anyone—they'll hunt you for it—"_

 _Leslie whines at her brother. "W-what? I don't—you're not making any sense, I don't—"_

 _"—_ _Listen to me! It was in my blood and now I'm…g-giving it to you." Owen holds her gaze with wide eyes, alpha-red slowly overtaking his normal hazel. Leslie gasps, feeling something passing between where her brother's hand is locked around her forearm and the skin._

 _"_ _Owen—what are you—you're hurting me, what are you doing?!"_

 _She can't help the cry that escapes her lips as a light coat of flames engulfs the hoodie she's wearing and makes it disintegrate off her body until she's left in nothing but her tank top. Her forearm flares with a light so bright it burns like her skin is on fire. It only lasts for a second, not even long enough for her to let out a terrified scream before her body absorbs whatever Owen is forcing into her._

 _When it ends, Owen relaxes against the ground, grip loosening around her arm but not letting go as he lets out a relieved sigh._

 _"_ _The Cylph, it's yours now," he mumbles through the blood bubbling out of his mouth as he looks at her apologetically._

 _"_ _N-no, no! What did you do? Owen, what did you do?!" She screams, feeling something strange and fiery bloom inside her body. Her limbs start to tremble as the fire inside her bursts into a blaze so large and encompassing that all she can do is hold her arms out in front of her and let the rain cool her skin._

 _She sobs with fear and panic as her skin begins to glow, humming with a low grade pain that isn't quite sharp enough to be agony. "Oweeeen?!" she cries, voice small and tortured. She's too frightened to do anything but hold still as she burns._

 _Through the roaring in her ears she hears her brother's voice speak his dying words. "It's okay, it's okay, it'll pass…Sis, it'll pass. I-I'm s-sorry. I'm sorry I can't stay. I'm sorry I couldn't k-keep it from you…I-I'm…"_

 _Owen doesn't finish. His alpha-eyes dim until they're back to hazel, and his hand falls away from her arm and hits the ground with a lifeless thud. It shakes up the puddled rainwater and splashes her still burning skin._

 _Leslie doesn't need wolf-ears to know that her brother is gone._

 _The grief is stronger than the pain of the fire inside her and Leslie can't do anything but let out the scream of anguish struggling to get out. The sobs rip out of her like her limbs are being torn apart. The rain washes the tears away from her face faster than she can cry them, but Leslie continues to cry and cry and cry as the heat of her brother's body starts fading into the night._

 _-x-_


	12. Chapter 12

_"_ _She's bright, isn't she—your sunshine?"_

Derek startles awake with a gasp, Magritte's voice still ringing in his head. He's lying on his back, it's dark around him, and his first instinct is to take a deep breath, see what he can find out with his nose. Smell has always been his strongest sense. He smells damp and dirt and it doesn't take long to determine that he's in a cellar of some sort. Another inhale tells him that he's alone and has been for a while. Leslie's hazelnut and cherry blossom scent is faint and the strongest of it is what's left on his hand. He pushes himself into a sitting position and flexes the hand he'd used to grab for her. He can still feel the indent of her burning fingers like it was only a second ago.

As he shifts into a standing position, one arm stretched above him so he doesn't smack his head on any wayward wooden beams, Derek blinks his wolf-eyes open to see through the darkness. There are mounds of dirt in some corners of the cellar and nothing else of particular interest. He looks up and wonders if there's a functioning house above him, but he can't hear anything, not even the usual noises of an old creaky house. Slowly, he starts shuffling his way through construction debris, stepping over a shovel and a discarded bucket on his way to the stairs. When he gets to the bottom of the stairs and looks up, he sees right through to the night sky, the moon swollen and huge.

It's an unnatural full moon invoked by magic and he knows this because he doesn't feel its pull on his wolf. Derek's brow knits with worry as the thoughts in his head begin to circulate faster and faster. Any magical thing that can force a full moon can't mean anything good and just as he's trying to figure out his next move a loud roar vibrates through the forest above. It's strong and livid and full of power and Derek knows immediately that it's Scott.

He takes the stairs three at a time, lets his wolf take the lead as it hastens to answer Scott's call. Derek hopes that Scott's roaring because he's facing another alpha and that the other alpha is the one that kidnapped Leslie. He races through the trees, nimbly leaping over roots and brambles, legs pumping strongly as another roar echoes through the forest. The leaves shiver around him and dirt and pebbles scatter against the ground as Scott makes his presence known.

-x-

 _The time is past 2AM when the lights and sounds of the carnival are finally far behind them instead of around them. They stroll hand in hand through haphazardly parked cars, shoes crunching dirt and sand at their feet. The breeze is cool against her skin as Leslie feels her lips curl into a small thoughtful smile. She turns back to him in the darkness and is warmed by the calm look on his face._

 _"'_ _M glad you came," she murmurs softly, knowing that she doesn't need to raise her voice with his wolf-ears._

 _Derek's eyes survey her thoughtfully._

 _"_ _Are you?" she continues, trying not to push him but unable to resist the urge to find out Derek's answer._

 _They're standing in the middle of the car park now, the moon casting shadows around them and illuminating them both._

 _"_ _Am I what?" he asks, looking lost and just a little bit confused._

 _"_ _Glad you came. Are you glad you came?" Suddenly she feels uncertain. What if he isn't glad? What if he just did it to appease her. She knows how much he hates crowds; how much it rattles his wolf-senses. But he'd danced anyway, enjoyed the music. Seemed like he'd had a good time._

 _Derek takes a step closer towards her and takes her face in his hands. His palms are warm and dry. They soothe her uncertainty immediately._

 _"_ _Yes, I'm glad I came," he murmurs before leaning his head down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. He pulls back just enough for their breaths to mingle and whispers again. "I'm glad I came with you, Les'."_

 _Leslie smiles against his lips, feels her heart swell with feeling and her breath tremble against his mouth. She cups a hand against his cheek and wonders how such a beautiful and perfect man could be standing here with her right now without looking for a way to escape._

 _-x-_

He's still deep in the woods when the scents hit him like a brick wall. Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Allison, Isaac, werewolves (a lot), Leslie and…fire. Derek bursts through the trees and comes face to face with the alpha that was in his apartment standing atop the Nemeton's stump. Leslie is still on her knees in front of him, still covered in fire, but unlike earlier, the colour in her skin has faded and there's a blue tinge to her lips. When he tries to get a read on her chemo signals all he can scent is misery and pain. There's an underlying bitterness coating her insides and it shows in the dark shadows under her eyes and the frailty in her limbs.

Her eyes are mere slits against her grey face and she doesn't react even when Derek gets almost close enough to touch.

The alpha—Gannon—shakes his head once in warning as Derek glares at him.

 _"_ _Be careful, Derek. It's hard for Death to shy away from this one."_

Magritte's voice comes at him seemingly from thin air but when he glances around them it looks like no one else has heard.

A loud scream tears through the forest and Derek can just make out the direction of where Lydia is hidden. People are going to die tonight and his heart sinks when he realises that he won't be able to save them all.

There's movement to his right among the trees and a second later he sees Scott emerge from the shadows. The true alpha sends him a nod of acknowledgement as he circles the Nemeton cautiously, one eye on the alpha standing on top of it. Derek can smell Stiles in the trees and he's surprised by how much the kid's scent has changed in the time he's been gone. There's a new undercurrent of strength in Stiles' scent and it leaves Derek wondering exactly how much things have changed in Beacon Hills.

There's another rustle in the branches above him and he sees a pair of golden eyes focussed on him. He can just make out the lithe Asian girl balanced on a branch above their heads. She's holding a sword with one hand and gives him a nod of reassurance as soon as she notices his gaze. He can tell by her scent that she isn't a werewolf but she smells strongly of Scott and its enough to put Derek at ease.

"You've called the cavalry, I see," Gannon muses, directing his words to Scott even as he watches Derek with hawk eyes, prowling the large circumference of the Nemeton's stump. Derek doesn't like Leslie's lack of response; doesn't like the way her breaths grate on every inhale. He knows next to nothing about what an activated Cylph can do to a human host and every move Gannon makes sends a slice of pain up his own spine.

"McCleod, it's not too late to discuss this, okay? We can find another way," Scott tries to reason.

The alpha huffs at them. "All this would be unnecessary if her brother had just done what he was expected to do. It was a mistake to pass it on to this _human,_ " he spits the last word out like it offends him and it makes Derek growl deep in his throat. The alpha digs the claws deeper into Leslie's neck and Derek hears her breath hitch desperately.

"Stop!" Derek barks, panicked.

"You can't just take it from her, McLeod, you'll kill her!" Scott protests at the same time, taking a step forward before stopping himself.

"Her body isn't strong enough, anyway. Owen Carroway never should have passed it on, it was his mistake and all it did was prolong the inevitable. The Cylph was always meant to come to me," McLeod says before grabbing Leslie's shoulder and pulling her back against his claws. Her body flares up immediately, the fire engulfing the whole circumference of the Nemeton. Derek resists the urge to cover his eyes as Leslie's own eyes snap open with shock and she lets out a tortured, shattering scream.

He and Scott lunge for McLeod and Leslie at the same time just as everyone around them starts moving all at once. Something tackles him as it leaps from the other side of the Nemeton and Derek lets out an angry snarl, pushing at large, football-player-shoulders. The girl with the sword drops out of the trees and intercepts a female beta running towards McLeod, who Derek assumes is her alpha.

Derek hears the whistle of an arrow as it zips past his ear and buries itself into the throat of another beta lunging for him. He sees Isaac on the other side of the stump trying to keep two betas from making a beeline for Scott. Isaac loses his grip on one of them and Scott is forced to swing his claws wide, catching the male beta in the chest and slowing him down but not enough, as the beta's own claws aim for Scott's face. Before Derek can yell a warning, a flash of blue light shoots out of the tree line and slices the beta's hand clean off. There's a wild whoop from the shadows and Derek can't even bring himself to be surprised that Stiles has found a way to wield magic.

His feet finally find some purchase against the football player still trying to tackle him into a tree and Derek digs his heels in as he calls forth his claws and fangs. He gets a grip on the football player's shoulders, shoves him back hard and fast as he drops into a crouch and _roars._

Scott responds immediately with his own alpha-roar, backing Derek up completely. Derek staggers back again as the football player bulldozes into him, and he swallows a frustrated curse because this beta is twice his size and Derek can't get around him fast enough. He strains against the beta, distracted and unfocussed because all he can hear is the hitch in Leslie's breaths, all he can feel is the pain emanating from her. He thinks he's completely lost the fight when Leslie releases a small cry of terror and Derek loses his grip on the beta he's fighting. But then there's a whizzing noise from behind him and then the beta jerks in his grip.

Derek blinks at the arrow sticking out of the werewolf's shoulder before swiftly shoving the beta to the ground. Two more arrows bury themselves into the beta as Derek charges towards Gannon. He dives atop the Nemeton uncaring of the fire, just as Scott reaches for Leslie and they both grab for their respective targets and yank them apart, falling in two separate directions.

Derek hears Scott cry out as Leslie's flames touch his skin, but he can't focus on that right now as he concentrates on subduing Gannon McLeod. His eyes are glowing orange and bright and Derek thinks that maybe he's too late and the alpha has absorbed all of the Cylph into himself. They grapple over leverage against the forest floor, Derek using all his werewolf strength to keep Gannon from gaining his feet. The alpha's eyes flare a brighter orange before flipping to alpha-red as he snaps his jaws at Derek's arm. Derek lets out an enraged snarl feeling all the anger he'd been holding at bay break free as he snaps his jaws right back at Gannon and clamps both sets of claws around the alpha's neck. He's thinking about Gannon's claws in Leslie's neck, is thinking about the tone of his voice when he'd called Leslie _human._ He's thinking about how much he wants this alpha gone when he squeezes his hands as hard as he can and feels the squish of flesh between his claws and the warmth of blood run over his skin. Derek releases a loud, furious roar, jaw stretching to accommodate a few extra fangs, and rips the alpha's head clean off his shoulders.

His vision bleeds red as he crouches over his kill. He's aware of the low, animal noise coming from his throat and all he can do is relish in the feeling of his canines elongating as his beta shift turns alpha. He feels the power flood his veins as the thrum of the Cylph moves through him. There's some form of glowing ember trickling out of the open neck of his kill, but Derek can't think beyond his wolf. The trees around them glow like they're burning, but it's just the magic fire. Fire glowing everywhere, floating over them and around them.

"Derek!" Scott's voice is distant as it calls from behind him. "Jesus, Derek, snap out of it! DEREK, SHE'S DYING!"

The words snap his wolf back into submission as Derek whirls towards the voice, eyes flashing blood red even as he struggles to reign in his fangs and claws.

 _Leslie._


	13. Chapter 13

Derek shoots to his feet and looks across the wide expanse of the stump of the Nemeton. He can't see anything except Scott's back crouched over something on the ground but Derek can feel a sharp tug of pain in his breastbone, can hear her tiny, hitching breaths, can smell the sourness in her scent—stronger than he ever could.

 _"_ _She's bright, isn't she—your sunshine?"_

Derek feels the alpha-red bleed out of his eyes as he moves towards Scott. He doesn't want to face her as an alpha. He wants to face her as _Derek_ , the way she's always looked at him. The way she's always _seen_ him.

Scott moves out of his way fluidly, swiftly averting his eyes to keep their wolves from challenging each other – because _that_ can happen now. And then there's nothing else blocking his view from _her._ Derek drops to his knees beside her, hands hovering but not touching. This isn't right, this isn't—this can't be…

"No," he breathes. The colour has completely left her skin; her lips are as grey as stone. Where she once was flushed with health, Leslie now lay listlessly.

"T-take it," she rasps, reaching a bony hand out for him. "Der—you gotta take all of it."

Derek grasps her hand automatically despite his confusion. "W-what? I-don't—"

Leslie holds both arms out to him and Derek does what she wordlessly asks and takes her gently into his arms. Her hand is cold as it traces his cheek. "T-take it, Der."

Derek shakes his head mutely.

No.

But something passes from the tips of her fingers and into him, anyway.

"No, stop," he demands, gripping her wrist gently. Leslie blinks at him stubbornly and ignores him, continuing to pass the essence.

"Stop!" he rasps again, curling around her protectively as she sags against him. He feels the warmth seep from her body and into his as if willingly and Derek starts to panic because he doesn't know how to give it back. "Les', stop. Stop it—don't. Stay with me, okay? Just stay."

"I didn't—I didn't get to tell you…" she huffs, blinking at him with imploring eyes even as her mouth stutters on a sob. "I didn't..." she tries again, but the tears fall in earnest now and he knows she's sorry.

Derek shakes his head frantically, feels his eyes burning because, fuck.

Fuck. "Just stay. All you have to do is stay."

Leslie takes the tip of his shirt in her hand, rubs it between her fingers like she used to—that familiar tug and twist—and all Derek can hear is the sound of her fading heartbeat loud in his ears.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

Inhale.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

It's like she's falling asleep in his arms. Eyes blinking slower and slower.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

The glow is fading all around them, fading slowly into _his_ skin now.

 _Ba-bum…ba-bum…_

Exhale.

"It's yours now," she whispers.

 _Ba-bum…_

 _-x-_

 _Leslie sits across from Derek's sister at their usual spot in the coffee shop. She and Cora both watch as Derek stands in the line to the counter, phone in his hand, waiting patiently to be served._

 _Cora coos at her softly, flashing her a knowing look. "Don't let him catch you with that look on your face or you'll never get rid of him," she teases._

 _Leslie feels the blush stain her cheeks as she breathes a soft sigh, glancing out the window before turning to watch Derek again. He's stepping up to the counter and giving the barista their order so she knows he can't hear them._

 _"_ _Sometimes I catch him watching me with this look on his face. Like he hasn't seen the sun in years," she murmurs._

 _Cora nods at her, and Leslie doesn't know why Derek's sister is suddenly holding back tears, but she listens to what Cora says. "I…I don't remember much from before we lost our family, but when we were kids, I remember this one time in the woods with my brother. He was… down that day, for some reason – I don't know why, but it made me offer to run with him. We ran for a long time and I almost couldn't keep up before we finally made it up to the top of this hill and Derek just burst through the trees. The sun was directly above us and my brother just raised his face to the sky and_ _ **breathed**_ _like he'd been holding his breath forever."_

 _Cora's eyes glance from Derek to Leslie before she continues. "I think that's the look you're talking about. It's the one he saves for the sun."_

 _Leslie doesn't reply. She's too busy trying to catch the breath Cora's story just stole._

 _She watches Derek pay the barista and catches his gaze as he glances at them. His expression turns questioning when Leslie doesn't look away and then becomes tender as the corners of his lips twitch into a self-conscious smile._

 _She's not ready to say it yet, it isn't the right time yet, but Leslie is thinking the words loud and clear._

 _I Love You._

-x-

 _"_ _She's bright, isn't she—your sunshine?"_

Magritte's voice is the last thing he wants to hear through the silence that Leslie's non-existent heartbeat leaves behind, but the druid's voice is strong and insistent.

 _"_ _It was you that gave that back to her—the brightness."_

 _The brightness… it was you that gave that back to her._

 _It was you that gave that brightness back to her._

 _"_ _She's bright, isn't she."_

 _"_ _Your sunshine?"_

 _Yours._

 _Your sunshine._

 _Yours._

Derek's eyes snap open, flaring red and raw and _powerful_. He takes Leslie's arm in his grasp, raises it to his lips and feels his fangs grow.

There is no resistance as he buries his fangs into her skin. He gathers everything inside him, all the need and the desperation and the want. He takes it all inside and wills it into the power of the bite. Hopes that it will take, hopes that he's not too late. Hopes to give her back the sun.

He doesn't let anyone take her from him. Keeps her cradled in his arms as they all trudge their way back through the woods trying to get back to some sort of civilisation. No one talks about how there is no heartbeat. No one talks about the coolness of her body and the sallowness of her skin.

Every member of Gannon's pack was eliminated in the fight by himself or one of the others. There is nobody left to challenge them for the Cylph. Scott sticks close by because he's Scott. They avoid eye contact and the true alpha keeps his distance, but Derek still considers what he's doing as hovering, although he finds that he doesn't mind it very much. He hasn't laid eyes on Stiles yet, and Derek wonders when exactly did the kid develop a penchant for travelling through the shadows. He hasn't been introduced yet to the Asian girl with the sword and he knows it's because Scott doesn't feel like it's the right time to do so, and Allison and Isaac are still back at the Nemeton, having volunteered for clean up duty.

Lydia is waiting for them as they exit the forest. She's standing between her parked car and Stiles' jeep. Scott's motorbike is propped on its kickstand beside it. The only clue he gets that she's surprised to see him is the slight widening of her eyes and the lift of one eyebrow, before she turns an expectant look at Scott because she's…huh. Waiting for direction.

"Take them to my house, my mom's working so it'll be empty." Scott goes to his bike with the Asian girl trailing quietly behind him as he continues addressing Lydia. "I'll meet you there."

Lydia nods silently before holding an arm out to Derek. She pulls the door to the back seat open and gestures to it with a slight tip of her head. He feels her lay a light hand on his shoulder as he shuffles Leslie into the car.

Scott and the Asian girl are still standing by his bike and Stiles' jeep when Lydia reverses onto the road and starts driving towards Beacon Hills.

-x-

 _Leslie throws the pillow at her brother's face and he retaliates by flashing red eyes and baring his fangs at her with a warning growl. Leslie dances back a few steps, cocks a hip to the side and crosses her arms._

 _"_ _I am_ _ **not**_ _afraid of you, dork," she crows, shooting him an appalled look that he would even dare to try scaring her with that werewolf shit._

 _Owen straightens from his crouch and blinks the red away with a roll of his eyes. "Well you should be. Not every werewolf is like me, Leslie. If you pull that stunt with anyone else, you'd probably get mauled to death."_

 _"_ _Well, lucky you're my brother, then," she replies with a light shrug, smiling at him smugly._

 _Owen rolls his eyes again before stalking out of the living room._

-x-

It's been hours since he's tucked Leslie's prone form into Scott's bed. He can hear Scott, Kira and Stiles downstairs, the walls and floors not thick enough to block out the topic of discussion.

 _"_ _It's been hours. I don't remember you taking this long to recover, Scott."_

 _"_ _Yeah, well, I wasn't dead when Peter bit me, Stiles."_

 _"_ _Shh! Guys, come on. Sorry, Derek."_

Derek blinks at Kira's apology, is touched that she had even thought to voice one from one floor down. He guesses that it comes with being a none-werewolf, even though he knows now that she isn't completely normal either.

They're right, though. It's been hours and Leslie hasn't woken up. He hasn't heard a single heartbeat, hasn't caught the faintest of breaths. Technically, he just carried a dead body all the way back to Scott's house from the preserve. What is he even waiting for? He knows that Scott and the others aren't really waiting along with him. It's more like Scott had told his pack to give Derek some time.

But Derek knows what he's waiting for.

Even if he hadn't seen proof, Derek had felt _something_ pass between them when he'd given her the bite. He may not have known how to give her back the sun, but he'd _felt_ it. The bite had taken, he knows it.

There's movement at the door accompanied by a light tap against the door jamb and Derek looks up to see Stiles' sympathetic face. It's the first time he's seen Stiles at a loss for words as he gestures silently to Leslie's still form, asking for permission to approach.

Derek blinks at him curiously and gives him a slight nod.

Stiles stops at the foot of the bed, takes a few steadying breaths—looks like he's centring himself. Derek's brow furrows when he notices Stiles' palm begin to glow a light tint of blue. Stiles lifts the blanket off of Leslie's feet, reaches out, and before Derek can do anything more than jerk forward in his seat, Stiles wraps long, strong fingers around one of Leslie's ankles.

Nothing happens for a moment and Derek's left sitting at the edge of his chair, eyes darting from Stiles' concentrated expression to the point where his palm is wrapped around Leslie's ankle.

And then Leslie's body startles violently and arches off the bed. Her hands flail for a minute as she sucks in a lungful of air, choking on a cough before she shoots up into a sitting position with a gasp…

…and looks at him wildly with golden beta eyes.


	14. Chapter 14 - Epilogue

Derek hefts their bags up the newly built staircase. The wooden banister glistens against the sunlight streaming through the glass on the ceiling and the air smells like fresh paint and polish. He takes a deep, calming breath as he makes the landing and heads towards the master bedroom. The door is sitting ajar just the way he'd left it the last time and Derek sticks his foot out and pushes it open further with the tip of his boot.

The king size bed in the middle of the room is made of solid, dark oak. It's dressed in white and tan sheets with an amber throw pillow propped up in the centre of each side. The windows are already open, white curtains fluttering with the breeze coming in from the forest and Derek lets the light scent of vanilla wash over him, the candle they'd lit earlier still doing its job.

He makes his way towards the dresser and closet to his left and deposits their bags by the closet door. The sound of Cora's bag hitting the floor in her own room down the hallway makes him smile a little.

As he shrugs his jacket off his shoulders and tosses it onto the bed, Derek hears cars making their way down the dirt driveway and the rev of a motorbike. His wolf-ears pick up the light thud of booted feet hitting the floor in the kitchen, and then swift footsteps and the opening and closing of cupboard doors as the last vestiges of groceries get packed away.

The cars and motorbike draw closer to the house until they're right in front, and Derek is just practiced enough to pick out the hitch of excitement from downstairs, the frisson of light energy beginning to hum inside the house.

He hears Cora's mattress shift as she rises from her bed just as the cars and motorbike come to a stop in the yard. Park brakes engage, a kickstand squeaks to life and multiple car doors slam in unison.

"They're here!"

The sound of excited footsteps against the new wooden floorboards in the hallway downstairs widens the light smile on Derek's mouth. The scent of hazelnut and cherry blossom wafts up to greet him as he reaches the top of the stairs and Leslie breezes by below him as she heads to the front door.

He ambles down the stairs in time to see her throw the front door open and let out an excited squeal as she leaps off the porch steps and tumbles straight into Kira and Stiles in front of his jeep. Lydia looks on from where she's standing by the driver's side of her hybrid.

Derek pauses half way down the porch steps, crosses his arms over his chest and looks on in amusement as Leslie fails completely at controlling her excitement, her wolf-eyes flashing gold and bright as she rubs a cheek against Stiles' shoulder and tightens the arm she's got hooked around Kira's neck.

It had been a crazy first few months of trying to get her new powers under control but they've discovered that it helps immensely that Derek is her alpha. As he watches Leslie reach over to give Lydia an affectionate hug, he can't help but catalogue the differences between the Leslie he'd known before and the Leslie he was staring at now. She was more sure of herself these days, less afraid now that she had spent the time to learn everything she could about what she had become after Derek had given her the bite, and the gift that her brother had left to her.

Lydia and Stiles had rejected any other answer that wasn't _yes_ when they'd decided to find out more about the _Cylphius Halorium,_ especially when it turned out that Derek had given it back to Leslie. What once threatened to burn through her human body so quickly was now perfectly settled within her stronger, faster—definitely more capable—werewolf form.

Shortly after Stiles had woken Leslie up with a jolt of his magic and she had come to as a beta Were, they had decided to stay a few days to give Leslie more time to recover, and to make sure that no one else would be coming for the Cylph. Leslie and Kira had formed an instant bond with each other after realising that they were both just coming into their powers. Kira as a kitsune and Leslie as a werewolf with, basically, a large force of energy inside her.

Stiles had instantly taken charge of teaching Leslie every magical thing he'd ever learned while she compared notes with Scott at the same time about his experiences from when he was first bitten.

"Allison and Isaac won't be here 'til later," he hears Scott announce as he pulls his helmet off his head and props it on his bike.

Derek watches the way Leslie's attention shifts to Scott. He can only see the back of her head but Derek can tell that their gazes have met by the way Scott's eyes flicker red in acknowledgement before he blinks them back to their warm brown. As the true alpha strolls past Stiles, Kira and Leslie, a grin forms on his mouth as he notices Leslie bare her neck to him respectfully. He responds accordingly by reaching over and brushing quick, gentle fingers over her skin.

The exchange is over in a second but says a lot about how much leeway they've made in regards to figuring out how to interact with each other – with both Derek and Scott being alphas, Leslie as the newest and most inexperienced beta, and trying to get two different packs to hang out all in one place.

It had been complicated (to say the least) and Derek knows there are still some kinks left to be ironed out, but the way his wolf stays settled even as he steps down one more stair and shakes Scott's hand gives him some hope that this will all work out. It helped a lot that Cora was already familiar with Scott, and Isaac with Derek. It helped even more that Scott's pack had a good mix of humans, wolves and… _Other_. He and Derek had also – surprisingly – found common ground with each other when Scott had filled Derek in on his newest and _first_ beta, Liam.

As life would have it, Derek found himself working through the experiences of having a new beta just as Scott was going through the same thing. The situation had turned out to be both nerve racking and reassuring.

"Oh, dude, the place looks good!" Scott calls from where he's stepping through the threshold of the front door, head craning to get a good look at Derek's newly finished house. They – he, Cora and Leslie – hadn't yet talked about coming back to Beacon Hills to live permanently, but the months spent reconnecting with Scott's pack, and Leslie forming strong – and not to mention _essential_ – attachments with some of its members, gave Derek reason enough to decide to at least rebuild the Old House in the Woods. Whether it would become a retreat or holiday house of some sort, or something else more permanent, was yet to be decided. Nobody really questioned him when he decided on five bedrooms, though. His mother had always said that it was better to have extra instead of running short.

"Wait 'til you see upstairs," Derek hears Cora say, watching as she descends to the bottom of the stairs, hand wrapped around the banister as she pauses on the bottom step. Her beta-eyes flash as she grins at Scott, her wolf acknowledging the true alpha smoothly. Cora's status as a born wolf is evident in the way she doesn't startle or freeze, easily maintaining control of her instincts.

"House tour!" Lydia calls, patting his shoulder once with a light hand as she brushes past him. Kira follows shortly behind her, sending him a quick smile on her way to the front door. He's about to reply with an affirmative _go ahead_ when the wind turns and he catches the slight whiff of ozone steaming from behind him.

Derek nearly cracks his neck with how fast he turns his head. The smell raises his hackles and he can't help flashing his eyes even though all he can see is Leslie and Stiles standing in front of him. Stiles is touching the tip of his finger to the skin of Leslie's bare arm, and as he continues to watch, he sees Stiles' hair begin to rise off of his head, like he's slowly being electrocuted.

Leslie huffs out a laugh, pulls her arm away and turns to Derek. She closes the distance between them with a few bouncing steps and when she throws herself into his arms, he's ready for it, enclosing her protectively into his embrace. Derek feels the Cylph thrumming inside of her, still reacting to Stiles' magic as Leslie tucks her head into the space under his chin. She doesn't seem particularly distressed but he sends Stiles a glare anyway, because the surface of Leslie's skin is burning hotter than it should, even for a werewolf, and it worries Derek.

"Don't look at me like that, Sourwolf. She was feverish and _it_ needs the exercise," Stiles admonishes.

Derek knows that if it wasn't Stiles then he would have had to do it himself anyway. An active Cylph and a dormant Cylph were two completely different things. Where a dormant one was harmless within its host, an active one constantly had the potential to burn through its host, werewolf or not. They hadn't yet figured out how Leslie's brother was able to use the Cylph for himself and without that knowledge Leslie was unable to get rid of any excess energy that was always building inside her. Thankfully, Magritte had been happy to assist him in figuring out a way to help siphon the excess energy out of Leslie without having to use his claws every time. It had meant calling in another favour from another of her witch friends, but they had ended up spelling the necklace Leslie had given Derek all those months ago. It now enables him to take the excess energy from Leslie before it came anywhere close to burning her up too much.

He keeps the necklace secured around his neck at all times, determined to never have to relive the experience of holding Leslie down in a bathtub full of ice; his palms turning red, raw and blistered as he gripped her, because she'd been "feverish" the two days prior.

Like always, she seems to know the direction of his thoughts and as Stiles retreats into the house, his arms raised in a non-threatening gesture, Leslie squirms in his arms until she's looking up at him. Her arms stay locked around his waist as they stand together at the bottom of the porch steps, both listening to the noises coming from inside the house. They both grin when they overhear Stiles and Scott begin to argue about whose room is whose.

"I'm fine," she reassures, lips curling into an affectionate smile.

Derek doesn't answer, traces a finger down the side of her face and feels his hand tingle as he siphons out more of the Cylph's continuously building energy from her instead.

"Always saving me," she murmurs, eyelashes fanning over her cheeks as she lowers her gaze. Her skin is flushed and healthy as the excess energy leaves her body and flows into his.

 _…_ _You should know that it was all darkness before you. You saved her,_ Magritte's voice echoes in his head.

"Because _you_ saved me," he replies aloud, slipping his hand around to cup the back of her neck.

 _She's bright, isn't she._

 _Your sunshine?_

Derek lets the warmth wash over him, basks in the bright smile she flashes him as she rests contentedly in his arms. And when he says the words out loud it feels like a declaration and a benediction at the same time.

"My sunshine."

It makes his breath come easier.

It makes him feel whole.

-x-

THE END


End file.
